The "I'm watching/just watched *movie title* thread....

[zeebo]

Saw Batman V. Superman last night. It really, really sucks.

Let's hope it just kills the superhero flicks for awhile.  Enough already with those.  I mean what's left, Astro-Boy or Wonder-Dog maybe.

[ItsOver]

Let's hope it just kills the superhero flicks for awhile.  Enough already with those.  I mean what's left, Astro-Boy or Wonder-Dog maybe.

Yes.  What is the fascination with all these superhero flicks?  On top of it, they're usually heaving CGI dependent so you may as well be watching a cartoon.  Has Hollywood just run out of ideas or is the audience they're sucking-off of this pitiful?  Is Noory now running Hollywood?  Could Orson Welles and Bogie be brought back from the dead and would anyone notice?

[onan]

Saw Batman V. Superman last night. It really, really sucks.

Not having read a comic book since circa 1968, I have missed out on the culture of the "graphic novel". My son tells me I have missed a great deal. That is probably true, in other areas of life as well, to be honest.

But I really liked the movie. I thought it touched on some very important themes. What is the nature of crime, what really is crime, and when is someone a criminal? I also thought the treatment of aliens was interesting.

There was at least one point that I did have a problem with and it deals with Batman's mother's name. I won't give away any spoilers here, however.

Let's hope it just kills the superhero flicks for awhile.  Enough already with those.  I mean what's left, Astro-Boy or Wonder-Dog maybe.

I am here to tell you, your wish is not going to be granted. There are at least 4 more coming out this year. And if I were you, I would stay quiet about Astro-Boy.

[analog kid]

10 Cloverfield Lane

Best film I've seen so far this year. John Goodman is a lock for best actor. Amazing performance!

It takes place "40 miles North of Lake Charles." That's... where I live. The first season of True Detective had some locations in the same area - "smells like tin foil and ash."

[21st Century Man]

Let's hope it just kills the superhero flicks for awhile.  Enough already with those.  I mean what's left, Astro-Boy or Wonder-Dog maybe.

I wouldn't mind a movie about Wonder Woman and all of her Amazonian "friends" from the isle of Lesbos. 

[21st Century Man]

Yes.  What is the fascination with all these superhero flicks?  On top of it, they're usually heaving CGI dependent so you may as well be watching a cartoon.  Has Hollywood just run out of ideas or is the audience they're sucking-off of this pitiful?  Is Noory now running Hollywood?  Could Orson Welles and Bogie be brought back from the dead and would anyone notice?

Probably not which is depressing.

[coaster]

I watched a few episode of Craig Ferguson's new show Join Or Die. He and a panel of three people discuss different subjects, like worst political blunders, and then pick the top one out of the list. It's a pretty funny show. My only complaint is its too short at only half an hour. The "History" channel gives an hour to people hunting alligators and cutting down trees, but an actual show about history only gets 22 minutes after commercials.

[zeebo]

... And if I were you, I would stay quiet about Astro-Boy.

Whooops, you're probably right.  Mum's the word.  And same goes for the Wonder Twins.

[NXOEED]

Not having read a comic book since circa 1968, I have missed out on the culture of the "graphic novel". My son tells me I have missed a great deal. That is probably true, in other areas of life as well, to be honest.

But I really liked the movie. I thought it touched on some very important themes. What is the nature of crime, what really is crime, and when is someone a criminal? I also thought the treatment of aliens was interesting.

There was at least one point that I did have a problem with and it deals with Batman's mother's name. I won't give away any spoilers here, however.

Oh I'll totally spoil that shit right now.

Hero #1:  "Isn't it crazy how both our moms have the same first name?"
Hero #2: "OK U CAN LIVE."

[onan]

Oh I'll totally spoil that shit right now.

Hero #1:  "Isn't it crazy how both our moms have the same first name?"
Hero #2: "OK U CAN LIVE."

Agreed it was the weak part of the story. But by the time that occurred I was pretty caught up in the story. And it isn't that unbelievable of a switch/diversion in behavior choice. Let's not forget, Batman anyway, is guided by a simple right versus wrong value system. And that moral compass is heavily weighted by his subjective view. He also has a strong affinity towards his mother, at least the movie has placed her name (twice I believe) into the audience's view. To me, that was to show a strong sense of loss. It seemed a strong point that the name of his mother would give him pause in almost any situation. I suppose one could take the story to consider Batman as ruthless, I didn't get that, but I would grant that is possible.

I would rather have had the story unfold where both "heroes" are able to put two and two together and figure out they were being manipulated. I was more disappointed with Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. And I was also somewhat bothered that there was no Lana Lang. There was only Lois Lane with Lana Lang's hair color.

But, I will pay to see it again.

[akwilly]

Agreed it was the weak part of the story. But by the time that occurred I was pretty caught up in the story. And it isn't that unbelievable of a switch/diversion in behavior choice. Let's not forget, Batman anyway, is guided by a simple right versus wrong value system. And that moral compass is heavily weighted by his subjective view. He also has a strong affinity towards his mother, at least the movie has placed her name (twice I believe) into the audience's view. To me, that was to show a strong sense of loss. It seemed a strong point that the name of his mother would give him pause in almost any situation. I suppose one could take the story to consider Batman as ruthless, I didn't get that, but I would grant that is possible.

I would rather have had the story unfold where both "heroes" are able to put two and two together and figure out they were being manipulated. I was more disappointed with Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. And I was also somewhat bothered that there was no Lana Lang. There was only Lois Lane with Lana Lang's hair color.

But, I will pay to see it again.

I am going to see the movie at some point. I did not know lex luthor was played by Eisenberg. That seems like terrible casting. Lex should be played by someone older. This makes no sense.

[NXOEED]

Agreed it was the weak part of the story. But by the time that occurred I was pretty caught up in the story. And it isn't that unbelievable of a switch/diversion in behavior choice. Let's not forget, Batman anyway, is guided by a simple right versus wrong value system. And that moral compass is heavily weighted by his subjective view. He also has a strong affinity towards his mother, at least the movie has placed her name (twice I believe) into the audience's view. To me, that was to show a strong sense of loss. It seemed a strong point that the name of his mother would give him pause in almost any situation. I suppose one could take the story to consider Batman as ruthless, I didn't get that, but I would grant that is possible.

I would rather have had the story unfold where both "heroes" are able to put two and two together and figure out they were being manipulated. I was more disappointed with Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. And I was also somewhat bothered that there was no Lana Lang. There was only Lois Lane with Lana Lang's hair color.

But, I will pay to see it again.

Well, I disagree. The fifty false starts, no scene lasting more than 90 seconds, the shitty bat-suits, the ridiculous plot, the dumb dream sequences, the masturbatory CGI... when the thing with the mom names came up, I laughed out loud. By that time, it was clear there was no saving this movie. I stuck around after the credits though, just in case there was a secret scene afterwards that might   turn it around. There wasn't.

I will say that it's in the credits that I found the one and only thing I liked about the movie: they gave a shout-out to Jim Aparo.

I got my start in illustration drawing comics. I used to send pages to DC for review, hoping to get a gig drawing Batman or Detective Comics, around '89 - '91. I don't understand why they always have to complicate the suit. You draw horns and a cape on a human figure, you've got Batman. I always hold out hope that these movies will get it right for once, and always disappointed when they don't. But the suit is the least of the problems.

Honestly, the Daredevil thing on Netflix is probably as close to a decent screen Batman as I'll ever see in my lifetime.

[onan]

Well, I disagree. The fifty false starts, no scene lasting more than 90 seconds, the shitty bat-suits, the ridiculous plot, the dumb dream sequences, the masturbatory CGI... when the thing with the mom names came up, I laughed out loud. By that time, it was clear there was no saving this movie. I stuck around after the credits though, just in case there was a secret scene afterwards that might   turn it around. There wasn't.

I will say that it's in the credits that I found the one and only thing I liked about the movie: they gave a shout-out to Jim Aparo.

I got my start in illustration drawing comics. I sent pages to DC for review, hoping to get a gig drawing Batman between '89 and '91. I don't understand why they always have to complicate the suit. You draw horns and a cape on a human figure, you've got Batman. I always hold out hope that these movies will get it right for once, and always disappointed when they don't. But the suit is the least of the problems.

Honestly, the Daredevil thing on Netflix is probably as close to a decent screen Batman as I'll ever see in my lifetime.

I have to add about the costume, in the late 60's there was a huge ballyhoo about placing a yellow oval behind the bat logo on the chest. That was long before any forum to discuss/argue any point. But there was usually some letter page somewhere in some magazine and for some time those that like the yellow background were either assholes or geniuses, depending on the point of view.

Sorry it was a bad time for you, I did have a good time.

[coaster]

Our Brand is Crisis. A completely forgettable movie.

[NXOEED]

I have to add about the costume, in the late 60's there was a huge ballyhoo about placing a yellow oval behind the bat logo on the chest. That was long before any forum to discuss/argue any point. But there was usually some letter page somewhere in some magazine and for some time those that like the yellow background were either assholes or geniuses, depending on the point of view.

Sorry it was a bad time for you, I did have a good time.

Yeah that yellow oval is dumber than shit. I was happy to see the makers of this new movie tried to work with Frank Miller's interpretation of the costume, but annoyed that they took it so literally.

[onan]

Yeah that yellow oval is dumber than shit. I was happy to see the makers of this new movie tried to work with Frank Miller's interpretation of the costume, but annoyed that they took it so literally.

Going back to the movie, I was glad to see Batman using a pistol. In the very early days of the comic. Batman did use firearms, then somewhere in the late 50's early 60's his pistols disappeared.

[NXOEED]

Going back to the movie, I was glad to see Batman using a pistol. In the very early days of the comic. Batman did use firearms, then somewhere in the late 50's early 60's his pistols disappeared.

I actually kind of liked that too. I liked how in the early comics, he was just kind of a thug who went after bad guys and Gleefully threw them into boiling cauldrons of hot liquid stuff, and said things like, "a fitting end for his kind." I think in better hands, this movie could have gotten some key shit right.

[21st Century Man]

Zack Snyder is way over-rated.  Lately his films have been all style and no substance.  Did anyone see Sucker Punch?  Talk about a waste of money.

[akwilly]

Zack Snyder is way over-rated.  Lately his films have been all style and no substance.  Did anyone see Sucker Punch?  Talk about a waste of money.

I saw sucker punch with a girl back when it came out. She loved that movie. I thought it was garbage.

[21st Century Man]

Justine de Sade (1972).  This movie appears to be a faithful adaptation of the Marquis De Sade's story and that is not necessarily a good thing.  It is composed of segments where  the virtuous Justine is attacked, raped and held as a sex slave to everyone she meets.  Each segment starts off with Justine telling her would-be rescuer the story of her life and after she tells it, the "rescuer" decides to have a taste of Justine.  This gets very repetitive and boring.  The titillation of the story is overshadowed by the fact that no one is likable not even Justine for all of her virtue.  All of the institutes of society are attacked such as the church and the nobility maybe justifiably so but it doesn't make for a pleasant movie experience. In the end after Justine reunites with her sister, Juliette, she is struck by lightning and killed.  An act of God so to speak. The moral of the story is that a virtuous life is not worth living and that it is better to abandon virtue and live a self-satisfying life with all of its comforts and its joys of the flesh.  There is copious amounts of nudity in this film with Alice Arno on full display as Justine.  She's pretty and cute but nothing extraordinary.  One gets more and more annoyed with her character as the movie progresses.  There is also a lot of S and M which usually for me is not necessarily a bad thing. There is also quite a bit of male homosexual activity in the film which is not my cuppa tea but it didn't offend me.  If you love de Sade's writings by all means see this movie as I think you'll be satisfied.  For others, I'd urge you to skip this film as it is slow and ponderous at times.  2 out of 5 stars.

[analog kid]

Zack Snyder is way over-rated.  Lately his films have been all style and no substance.  Did anyone see Sucker Punch?  Talk about a waste of money.

Now I know who Snyder is. Yep, that explains everything.

[trostol]

black sails just wrapped up with a pretty fantastic season finale...was a good season all and all

[21st Century Man]

  Kingdom of Heaven (2005) -  Ridley Scott's Crusades opus.    I went into this film with low expectations as I expected it to be very PC with a message that slams Christianity while elevating the Islamic faith.  While it may have done this to a minor degree, it more or less treated the faiths as Cecil B. DeMille did in his 1935 flick of The Crusades, evenhandedly.  In both movies,Saladin is an honorable Muslim and he treats his opponents with dignity and not the way that radicals of the faith treat infidels today.  This characterization is true to history.

The cast is generally excellent except for the lead, Orlando Bloom, who is rather flat as Balian.  Russell Crowe, if a little old, would have been excellent in this role with a bit of tinkering to the screenplay. Bloom just doesn't have the screen presence to play the lead.  His leading man status seemed to take a plunge after his initial success in the Pirates of the Carribbean, Lord Of The Rings  and Kingdom of Heaven.  I think Kevin McKidd who has a small role in the film could have also played an excellent Balian. Other standouts in the cast are Liam Neeson, Eva Green, Brendan Gleeson and Edward Norton as the leprous King of Jerusalem. The film is sumptuous and never boring despite the long running time.  On the whole, I give this film 4 out of 5 stars.

Oh and one more thing, I viewed the Director's Cut not the theatrical version which I heard was crap.

[Mind Flayer Monk]

black sails just wrapped up with a pretty fantastic season finale...was a good season all and all

Thumbs up. Great show.

[coaster]

Watched the new Star Wars movie. I am not familiar with the franchise and don't even remember watching the original in it's entirety, but I have to say I enjoyed it. I went to IMBD like I always do after watching a movie, and saw that the fans were divided on it, even going so far as to throw insults at those who liked it.
Nerds. I thought it was fun. I am a fan of computer animation and motion graphics so I enjoyed that aspect quite a bit. It was also nice seeing Harrison Ford reprise a role that hes so famous for. It was far better than seeing him in Crystal Skull.

[onan]

Watched the new Star Wars movie. I am not familiar with the franchise and don't even remember watching the original in it's entirety, but I have to say I enjoyed it. I went to IMBD like I always do after watching a movie, and saw that the fans were divided on it, even going so far as to throw insults at those who liked it.
Nerds. I thought it was fun. I am a fan of computer animation and motion graphics so I enjoyed that aspect quite a bit. It was also nice seeing Harrison Ford reprise a role that hes so famous for. It was far better than seeing him in Crystal Skull.

I agree completely.


Also saw Spotlight, pretty good explanation of the behavior of the Catholic Church regarding priests and child sexual abuse.

[PB the Deplorable]

Watched the new Star Wars movie. I am not familiar with the franchise and don't even remember watching the original in it's entirety, but I have to say I enjoyed it. I went to IMBD like I always do after watching a movie, and saw that the fans were divided on it, even going so far as to throw insults at those who liked it.
Nerds. I thought it was fun. I am a fan of computer animation and motion graphics so I enjoyed that aspect quite a bit. It was also nice seeing Harrison Ford reprise a role that hes so famous for. It was far better than seeing him in Crystal Skull.

Movies like these have such a cult following, those fans wouldn't be happy with anything that didn't meet all their expectations in every way. 

More than just nerds, pretentious entitled nerds.

[21st Century Man]

The Wet Parade (1932) by Victor Fleming and starring Dorothy Jordan, Robert Young, Neil Hamilton, Walter Huston, Jimmy Durante and Lewis Stone.  Rather odd film that details the struggles of alcoholism in two families prior to Prohibition and after it was  enacted.  Brother and Sis  (Hamilton and Jordan) live in Louisiana with their alcoholic pop (Lewis Stone bearing a striking resemblance to Colonel Sanders)  who swills alcohol every chance he gets.  He tries to stay sober but fails, eventually killing himself in a pig sty.  Symbolism anybody?   Hamilton moves to New York City to focus on his writing and finds a pad at a small hotel that Young and Huston run.  Huston, when he's not giving campaign speeches for Woodrow Wilson, also likes to down drinks when he gets a chance and Hamilton, taking after his pappy, joins in the fun.   Jordan, who hates alcohol, follows Hamilton to New York and falls in love with fellow teetotaler, Young.  WWI sets in and a series of Congressional acts paves the way for Prohibition.  One notable act was the Food and Fuel Control Act which basically barred the making of alcohol from grain which could be better utilized to provide food for our soldiers during the war.

    In 1919, Prohibition is passed and the bootleg industry is born.  Huston gets hold of some bad liquor and when his wife discovers him hiding his stash, she raises holy hell and in anger, Huston kills her.   Huston is jailed for life and Young is devastated.  He becomes a Treasury Agent busting up speakeasies and bootleg operations along with his partner, Jimmy Durante, who provides some much needed comic relief.  Meanwhile Young and Jordan get married and are expecting a kid while Hamilton sinks deeper and deeper into alcoholism.  He gets a hold of some bootleg bourbon that is cut with methanol and becomes blind.  Meanwhile the bootleggers have been threatening Young's life and Jordan is hospitalized as her baby is due.  I won't give away the ending but I'll say this much.  Durante dies in a shootout.  Good night, Mrs. Calabash.

    This is really an entertaining film with some very sad moments but also some funny ones too.  Durante does his "I got a million of 'em ha-cha-cha" routine and acquits himself very well in the more serious moments of the film.  Young and Jordan are fine leads if not outstanding. Notable performances are given by Hamilton, Huston and Stone.  Myrna Loy also has a small role as Hamilton's girlfriend. It should be noted that Young later became an alcoholic but was able to overcome his addiction and live a long life.  The moral of this film is that while alcoholism is bad, Prohibition was worse as the government was not able to control the quality of the booze and that caused even more problems as shown in the film.  I enjoyed this film immensely.  4 out of 5 stars.

[coaster]

The Wet Parade (1932)

That sounds really good. Do you know of a way to watch these older films online?

Also saw Spotlight, pretty good explanation of the behavior of the Catholic Church regarding priests and child sexual abuse.

I loved Spotlight.

[analog kid]

Movies like these have such a cult following, those fans wouldn't be happy with anything that didn't meet all their expectations in every way. 

More than just nerds, pretentious entitled nerds.

And yet, any superhero movie gets a pass, no matter how cheesy it is.