What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[coprolite]

10 hours ago, sfha said:

I generally avoid cartoons. Unless they are pre1960s Tom and Jerry, or Tex Avery

You're in luck. Sonic's live action with cgi. Fill yer boots! 

[sfha]

3 hours ago, coprolite said:

You're in luck. Sonic's live action with cgi. Fill yer boots! 

... I still think I'll give it a miss...

[accies1874]

124. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) - DVD

I would compare this most closely to The Force Awakens in that it resets a franchise after dreadful predecessors with a fun, genuinely decent film that is a bit too inoffensive and safe. There are elements of something really good, but it isn’t developed enough to reach that.

It’s still enjoyable, though, and feels quite fresh despite being the sixth Spider-Man film in 15 years. You’ve got an actual character who is established through some nice details that also somewhat flesh out the world. He’s easy to connect with and is appropriately awkward and self-conscious, but there was more that could’ve been done to develop him. There’s obvs the ferry scene which works well, but he does a lot of careless things with very little consequence which is a shame as they could’ve been dramatically tense moments. Just as an example, at one point he goes through gardens trashing them which is OK as he’s new to the role and it’s good we’re seeing him make mistakes, but you need to show him later in the film in a similar situation but purposefully avoiding breaking folk’s shit. Instead, he helps crash a plane, obliterate a house that might be occupied, and also sets a beach on fire. The school itself has so much potential for a fun setting and they tease some of that (daft teachers, the shoddy bulletins, the occasional goofy character) but it’s so reserved compared to other high school films. The ‘teen movie’ filter sets it apart from a lot of other superhero and Spider-Man movies, but I wish it was more than a filter.

I did like how small the scale is. It’s a human story of a kid in over his head trying to do the right thing and stop the baddie. He keeps going despite the setbacks and people telling him to run the other way. This works for the story they want to tell, and the set-pieces are suitably scaled with the right amount of stakes, never overstaying their welcome.

It’s funny too, with an alright hit-rate of jokes and plenty of decent characters.

125. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) - BBC iPlayer

I really didn’t like this when it came out, but that wasn’t the case this time despite it getting off to a bad start. Having MJ as a love interest comes out of nowhere, the FEAST scene is all over the place and introduces the main theme in quite a clunky way, and Marvel had/have written themselves into a hole with “the blip”. It’s kinda played off as a joke and inconsequential, as if the film is telling you early on “nothing matters in any of this”. I honestly believe you could remove Homecoming and miss out on very, very little. Peter’s arc is kind of neglected as he goes through similar mistakes this time around like with his recklessness and having his insanely wealthy backing getting him out of sticky situations. The character stuff in FFH is mostly a product of what happens in the intermediate Avengers movies, although I did like the contrast between what he wants in HC compared to this.

It’s a nothing film that everyone’s probably already forgotten about, but it’s quite easy to sit through and pass the time. There are some laughs, mostly from the background characters, and the premise is quite fun. That was frustrating, though, as you’ve got this fun premise of Spider-Man’s holiday constantly being interrupted by Nick Fury, but then that premise itself is constantly interrupted by loud, explodey action scenes devoid of stakes and tension. It’s bigger in scale, which just makes the final act less focused and harder to invest in. Drones just aren’t an interesting third act obstacle, plus Mysterio is pretty much just Syndrome from The Incredibles. They actually had a decent “protagonist developing to overcome a challenge they previously failed in” moment in the third act, but I didn’t feel that it was weaved through the film well enough to make it a satisfying moment which was a shame.

It ends really suddenly, imo, in an unsatisfying way, which is what happens when you need to include a HUGE post-credits scene THAT YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS which ultimately takes the place of an actual ending to the film.

126. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) - Sky Cinema

It’s not terrible and my criticisms aren’t major. Like with FFH, though, it does very little to elevate it above millions of other bland blockbusters, so the praise is “it does some basics well” and the criticisms are “it does some basics poorly”, but there’s nothing in it to provoke a strong emotional response because these films are lazy. Its blandness is more offensive than any of its shortcomings, but these kinds of films will try and squeeze out genuinely inventive and heartfelt films like Into the Spider-Verse so I suppose that’s what blockbuster cinema has to look forward to.   

Edited August 5, 2022 by accies1874

[Squalor Vic]

Prey

Been buzzing for this since the trailers and didn't disappoint.  If you'd never seen the original and didn't have the nostalgic connection then you'd think this is the better film for sure. First 30 mins are set up but needed for how the rest plays out. Lots of nods, and a good nod to predator 2 (which I'll defend as a good film) and doing the 3 films and forgetting the rest, watching them in the order of the timeline, it's not a bad trilogy at all. 

Great 90 minute Friday night film

 

[KnightswoodBear]

Watched Prey this evening on Disney+.  Wow.  Every bit as good as the original Predator.  Can't recommend it enough 

Edited August 5, 2022 by KnightswoodVanBear

[Squalor Vic]

7 minutes ago, KnightswoodVanBear said:

Watched Prey this evening on Disney+.  Wow.  Every bit as good as the original Predator.  Can't recommend it enough 

I'm hesitant to say as good as the original because I do have that daft nostalgia thing, with big Arnie etc but aye....it's probably as good as, and less stupid. Predator works as a brilliant sequel to it, kinda like Aliens to Alien but the wrong way round 30+ years apart 

[KnightswoodBear]

22 minutes ago, Squalor Vic said:

I'm hesitant to say as good as the original because I do have that daft nostalgia thing, with big Arnie etc but aye....it's probably as good as, and less stupid. Predator works as a brilliant sequel to it, kinda like Aliens to Alien but the wrong way round 30+ years apart 

I liked the wee nods to Predator and Predator 2, without it feeling like a retread.  The short running time helped I think, there's nothing feels like it's superfluous.  The Predator looks amazing as well. 

[Squalor Vic]

34 minutes ago, KnightswoodVanBear said:

I liked the wee nods to Predator and Predator 2, without it feeling like a retread.  The short running time helped I think, there's nothing feels like it's superfluous.  The Predator looks amazing as well. 

Yeah definitely, it gives you the easter eggs without battering you over the head with them (even that line the brother says gave me a smile instead of a wince) 

Agree about the predator itself, it's probably the baddest b*****d out all of them thats been on screen. Looks brilliant with the skull over its head. It fighting a bear was class.

Big props to Amber Midthunder playing the main character too. Totally bought into her as much as you'd buy into Arnie 

Edited August 5, 2022 by Squalor Vic

[DA Baracus]

12 hours ago, accies1874 said:

126. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) - Sky Cinema

It’s not terrible and my criticisms aren’t major. Like with FFH, though, it does very little to elevate it above millions of other bland blockbusters, so the praise is “it does some basics well” and the criticisms are “it does some basics poorly”, but there’s nothing in it to provoke a strong emotional response because these films are lazy. Its blandness is more offensive than any of its shortcomings, but these kinds of films will try and squeeze out genuinely inventive and heartfelt films like Into the Spider-Verse so I suppose that’s what blockbuster cinema has to look forward to.   

I think there are at least two things that provoke an emotional respose...

9 hours ago, KnightswoodVanBear said:

Watched Prey this evening on Disney+.  Wow.  Every bit as good as the original Predator.  Can't recommend it enough 

But does it have tremendous one liners like "STICK AROUND!! or "I don't got time to bleed!"?

Going to watch it tonight.

[accies1874]

But does it have tremendous one liners like "STICK AROUND!! or "I don't got time to bleed!"?
Going to watch it tonight.

Laughter at the sitcom introductions? [emoji6]

[BFTD]

I'd absolutely no idea there was another Predator film out.

One of the problems with there being a myriad of platforms for these things to be released on, I suppose.

[DA Baracus]

Watched Prey last night. It's good, definitely recommend it. Easily the second best Predator film.

[UpInTheAyr]

Yeah definitely, it gives you the easter eggs without battering you over the head with them (even that line the brother says gave me a smile instead of a wince) 
Agree about the predator itself, it's probably the baddest b*****d out all of them thats been on screen. Looks brilliant with the skull over its head. It fighting a bear was class.
Big props to Amber Midthunder playing the main character too. Totally bought into her as much as you'd buy into Arnie 

Think this Predator is a teenager type one on his first hunt. Definitely feels inexperienced with some of his decision making.

[UpInTheAyr]

Watched Prey last night. It's good, definitely recommend it. Easily the second best Predator film.

Hmm, maybe on par with Predator 2 which is somewhat underrated. As is Predators. The Predator is a steaming pile though.

The director of Prey has talked about doing a samurai era one too which would be interesting

[BFTD]

Aye, Predators wasn't as bad as it was made out to be. Predator 2 was a huge disappointment though, from an initially interesting premise.

I don't know what they thought they were doing with The Predator, though. Wild swing and miss from Shane Black.

[MSU]

086 It Comes at Night (#51 in A24 series) This is like The Road for people who aren't quite ready for the full desperate experience of actually watching The Road. It's the old unspecific apocalypse trope again, where a disease has rampaged through the world leaving only a few scattered survivors living in isolation and in fear of the unseen menace around them. Where The Road basically asked, what's the point of having morals and being a good guy if we're all doomed, this takes a step back and wonders what happens to our innate sense of trust, and our compulsion to protect our loved ones in those circumstances. These are all worthy questions and It Comes at Night paints a pretty realistic answer, albeit a crushingly bleak one. 8/10

087 A Ghost Story (#52 in A24 seres) I get why people can and do hate this movie. It's for those reasons and many more that I adore it. Who knew that Casey Affleck under a bedsheet watching Rooney Mara silently eat a whole pie could move me to tears? It's one of my favorite movies of the century. It's so sad, so profound, so achingly beautiful to watch. It's pretty much perfect. 10/10

088 Menashe (#53 in A24 series) Menashe is a middle-aged widower living in a ultra-orthodox area of Brooklyn. His young son is living with his former brother-in-law on his rabbi's instruction until he cqn find a new wife, which he doesn't want. Fairly depressing stuff is lightened somewhat by Menashe attitude and it's shining a light on a world I know nothing about, so was fairly interesting. 5/10

089 Bullet Train -- So very stupid, but it was a fun watch. Brad Pitt plays a thief who is given the job of stealing a briefcase from a Bullet Train going from Tokyo to Kyoto but it turns out the train is full of assassins, hit men, and other assorted ne'er do wells who all have their own missions in which the briefcase is relevant. It's entertaining enough, with some great cameos, but it's impossible not to wonder why there are so few Japanese people on this train, why does the conductor not notice any of the rampant destruction taking place on his train, and who would've expected so many Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends name-checks (actually, this was probably my favourite bit). 6/10

[accies1874]

127. Nitram (2022)* - Cinema

I didn’t actually know that this is about a real event until the end. I initially thought that it was doing something akin to Dark Night (a weird film that’s stuck with me despite not liking it an awful lot) in that it uses a real event – Dunblane – to parallel a fictional story commenting on how the real event came to be. As it happens, there were just two similar tragedies in a close period of time at opposite ends of the globe. I can understand how it was met with controversy as it almost, at points, seems like it’s sympathising with the killer and his trauma, mental deficiencies and all-round inability to exist in society. This could’ve been a “look how society’s failed him” film, but there’s always the feeling that something very dangerous is bubbling from the very start. It’s trying to show how unstable this guy was and how easy it was for him to pursue his obsession with guns. The first two acts are about building this character for what he goes on to do in the final act and questioning how it was allowed to happen. It’s a constant descent that I don’t think does empathise with him; you know something bad’s gonna happen and you know that he’s gonna be the perpetrator. It’s a good sound choice to ramp up the sound design of the firecrackers, then the air rifle, before finally the actual guns. It links in with that idea of what dangerous people can access.

Initially, I wasn’t actually sure about it being set in the 90s (obviously before I knew it actually happened) as I thought that might have negated the message, lacking the punch of “this is happening and folk are letting it happen.” That wasn’t fair, though, as it does still feel incredibly current. So much so that the shooter even sets up a camera to film his actions (reminiscent of the Buffalo shooting quite recently), so it then becomes “this is still happening, despite all the trauma it’s caused” which feeds into the final titles. Need to give props to the performances, especially from the mum, dad and the woman from The Babadook as they are the humanity of the film, completely lost as they try to do their best for a person with no basis in reality. For whatever reason, I didn’t think that there was enough to Caleb Landry Jones’ performance despite him doing really well from a physical performance point of view. Maybe the lack of layers was deliberate, but, despite not actually being as down on him as an actor as others, I’ve not seen anything that suggests he’s got much more in him.

It is understandable, imo, why Tasmanian citizens were uncomfortable about it, and I think there’d be a similar reaction here if they made a film about Dunblane (which I didn't know built up a connection with Tasmania due to this event). While I found it a really interesting piece, that won’t be enough for the folk affected by the massacre which is fair enough. It’s not something they’ll want to relive and delving into the mind of the person who injured them or killed someone they loved must feel pretty horrific. I had no connection to the event and even I found it a bit uncomfortable that it exists, and certainly felt unsettled during and after it but that was a testament to the filmmaking as, like I said, I didn’t know it was an actual event. It’s not graphic at all, just deeply unpleasant on a psychological level which stayed with me for a while after watching. There won’t be many films that will affect me like that this year, even if it’s not something I’ll be shouting from the rooftops telling folk to see. There are others I’ve liked much more than Nitram, but very few this affecting.

Edited August 11, 2022 by accies1874

[Clown Job]

Prey (2022) on Disney +
 

Its the Predator sequel we finally deserve

I was genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed this, some great action scenes 

[Detournement]

On 08/08/2022 at 15:21, accies1874 said:

A film about Dunblane.

We'll need to wait another 74 years until the files are unsealed so potential film makers can find out what the plot is. 

If Oliver Stone was to make a film now I'd go for Peter Capaldi as Lord Forysth and Brian Cox as Lord Robertson. 

[accies1874]

Not sure I've got another 74 years in me tbh