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Last movie watched...

Started by SmallBlueThing, 04 February, 2011, 12:40:44 PM

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TordelBack

Quote from: pictsy on 21 June, 2020, 05:33:33 PM
I'd agree that I, Robot is watchable, but it is very by-the-numbers.  I'd agree that it does suffer from the Asimov association as well, because it doesn't hold a candle to his stories. 

You'd have to wonder why we haven't had a properly faithful R Daneel Olivaw TV series at this point, preferably with added Susan Calvin to give it more breadth. Caves of Steel etc. is the perfect meeting of Asimov's SF and Murder Mystery genii. Leave out the Foundation connections,  though.


Tiplodocus

Because that wouldn't be as cool as Will Smith jumping motorcycle while blasting robots with a submachine gun in each hand.
Be excellent to each other. And party on!

pictsy

Caves of Steel is the only book of that series I've read so far, and that was a while ago.  But I did think that it would have been something better to adapt than I, Robot... from what I remember it was closer to that film anyway.  Still, Tips is right, they gotta have their action.  It tests well with the target demographic, after all.  And looks fantastic in the trailers.

My copy of I, Robot has the movie poster on the cover and I'm really disappointed.  Especially as much of my Asimov collection has that fantastic 70s/80s artwork on it. 

pictsy

The Core

I forgot for a moment that I watched this last night.  Partly because it came up here a week or two ago and partly because it came up in conversation with a friend, I decided to take the risk and give it a go.

I think it helped knowing it was stupid going in.  Because it is really stupid.  Nevertheless, it is fun.  I can think of less enjoyable disaster movies (I'm guessing that's its specific genre).  I even got invested in the characters.

It's certainly interesting watching it whilst we are in the midst of two global disasters. 

I'm somewhat interested in rewatching Deep Impact now.  I remember enjoying that one.

TordelBack

Quote from: pictsy on 22 June, 2020, 09:43:30 AM
I'm somewhat interested in rewatching Deep Impact now.  I remember enjoying that one.

I've grown to like Deep Impact over the years despite its sappy fatalism: it actually delivers (more or less) on the global catastrophe it promises, and the 'ground level' characters and stories are well defined thanks in part to (depending on your Téa Leoni threshold) a really superb cast.

Notably Mimi Leder gives the best line to her hubby (IIRC, forgot his name) who plays Elijah Wood's tepid love-interest's father-in-law, as he notes the approaching cometary fragment that will kill him is named for his new son-in-law with a simple snarled 'Biederman'.

Also arguably the film that made the Obama presidency possible.

Keef Monkey

Watched a bunch over the weekend, of varying quality!

2036 Origin Unknown, a Netflix sci-fi movie with Katee Sackhoff. I'll watch any sci-fi with Sackhoff in it (blame Battlestar) but this didn't really land for me. I liked a lot of it and think there's a good story in there somewhere but a bit messily told, maybe some more drafts to construct something leaner and tighter might have worked. It does have its moments and as a film that's largely just Sackhoff in a room on her ownshe carries it well, it's just a bit dull and its reveals feel clumsy.

Sequence Break, a horror on Shudder about an arcade cabinet repair guy who starts working on a mysterious game that starts doing...weird stuff. It plays out like a long Black Mirror episode really. It's pretty creepy and has some good ideas and genuinely icky moments, it also has a nice bumbling love story which gives it a lot of heart. It just feels again a bit dull and repetitive at times and the low budget is definitely felt in places. Interesting though, in that 'didn't love it but glad I watched it' sort of way.

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock - have to say, this made me think all that 'only the even numbered ST films are good' thinking is pretty flawed, because this was great. Really, really enjoyed it. Had seen it as a kid but going back it holds up very well, and is quite moving in places. I do very much love that the films are separated from the TV show by enough time that the age of the crew and the ship is a big aspect, when they assemble on the bridge in this one it really feels like a bunch of dads rocking up for a night on the town and I love that. Plus all the banter and the way the cast can deliver it to each other is really something. I remember loving IV (it was the first one I saw in the cinema) so looking forward to that next.

Twister, which I've never seen but is one of my wife's favourite films from her youth so whenever it came up she was incredulous that I'd ever watched it. Finally sorted that, and it's pretty damn good! Always love Paxton and him and Helen Hunt are both excellent, pretty much all the effects hold up surprisingly well, properly exciting and also very touching in places. Glad I finally saw it!

pictsy

I enjoyed Search for Spock quite a lot the first time I watched all the OS Trek films.  I didn't dislike 5 that much either.  I appreciate The Motion Picture, too.  So yeah, that only even number thing is horse crap.  I can't stand TOS but the films are all good romps that I enjoy.

JamesC

I've been rewatching the Mission: Impossible films with my brother (over WhatsApp).

I wasn't hugely enthusiastic but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed MI1.
I'd forgotten it was directed by Brian DePalma and it really does feel like a pretty classy action spy thriller.
The opening sequence is great and still quite shocking (poor Emilio), the restaurant scene is excellent and very tense and the much mimicked Pentagon heist is a great set piece.

MI2 on the other hand is absolute shit.
I never really got the John Woo thing and in this movie he bins all the MI tropes, other than the masks and makes something that feels more like Face/Off 2 than a Mission Impossible film.
It really is just rubbish with few redeeming qualities. On top of all that it feels incredibly dated with the excruciating nu-metal soundtrack (they even manage to ruin the iconic theme music).

MI3 is a return to form with an excellent turn from Philip Seymour Hoffman as a creepy, ice cold baddie.
There are double dealings, heists, a great supporting cast of IMF specialists and spectacular stunts.
I really enjoyed this one and it had me nailed to my chair from the excellent tension filled opening.

Ghost Protocol tomorrow night (we might leave it there as we've both seen the later ones recently).
After this we're doing Alien, Aliens Special Edition and Alien 3(blu ray assembly cut/special edition).

Professor Bear

Just remember not to think about how long the series has been going.

Romancing The Stone - boy, 1980s films are a trip now.  I remember this being well thought-of, but this was a cringe-inducing viewing experience in 2020 as I think I have - despite my best efforts - developed something akin to taste and/or empathy over the years, so watching characters who are clearly pricks get away with blue murder - often directly rewarded for being assholes - just doesn't seem cool or funny anymore.  The central romance is really unconvincing, which doesn't help matters.

Bounty Killer - cheapo post-apocalyptic action flick from 2013, a time before movies tried to get by on being so terrible that somebody might find them compelling.  It isn't good, but it feels like it's trying, and I think that should count for something.  It does have some good moments here and there, like the 'stagecoach' that's a caravan pulled along by motorcycles instead of horses, and has the odd good line or shot here and there.  I enjoyed this, and was surprised to get to the end and see it was based on a graphic novel.

The Mountain - Spencer Tracy plays Zachary Teller, an aging mountaineer who's watched many men die on the slopes of nearby murder mountain Mt Blanc and took the hint a decade ago, swearing never to climb again, but a crashed plane at the mountain's peak is rumored to have gold in its belly and this is too much temptation for Zachary's greedy brother, Christopher, who threatens to climb homicide heights on his own.  Robert Wagner is on fine form playing a greedy, cowardly, murderous piece of shit thug to the hilt, to the extent that I straight-up laughed when he got his.  Tracy plays a much simpler character and does most of the heavy lifting on the acting side, but they work well off each other.

wedgeski

Quote from: JamesC on 22 June, 2020, 06:08:26 PM
I've been rewatching the Mission: Impossible films with my brother (over WhatsApp).

I wasn't hugely enthusiastic but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed MI1.
I'd forgotten it was directed by Brian DePalma and it really does feel like a pretty classy action spy thriller.
The opening sequence is great and still quite shocking (poor Emilio), the restaurant scene is excellent and very tense and the much mimicked Pentagon heist is a great set piece.

MI2 on the other hand is absolute shit.
I never really got the John Woo thing and in this movie he bins all the MI tropes, other than the masks and makes something that feels more like Face/Off 2 than a Mission Impossible film.
It really is just rubbish with few redeeming qualities. On top of all that it feels incredibly dated with the excruciating nu-metal soundtrack (they even manage to ruin the iconic theme music).

MI3 is a return to form with an excellent turn from Philip Seymour Hoffman as a creepy, ice cold baddie.
There are double dealings, heists, a great supporting cast of IMF specialists and spectacular stunts.
I really enjoyed this one and it had me nailed to my chair from the excellent tension filled opening.
MI2 is the only weak link in an amazingly high-quality franchise. The recent Chris McQuarrie ones are setting the standards for your modern techno-thriller, IMO. Cruise is never less than excellent.

repoman

Quote from: Professor Bear on 22 June, 2020, 07:28:10 PM

Romancing The Stone - boy, 1980s films are a trip now.  I remember this being well thought-of, but this was a cringe-inducing viewing experience in 2020 as I think I have - despite my best efforts - developed something akin to taste and/or empathy over the years, so watching characters who are clearly pricks get away with blue murder - often directly rewarded for being assholes - just doesn't seem cool or funny anymore.  The central romance is really unconvincing, which doesn't help matters.



I have a lot of love for it and watched it recently and still enjoyed it.  Feels like a proper movie.

I can't bring myself to watch Jewel of the Nile yet though.  I was always pretty disappointed by it.

pictsy

Deep Impact

This film held up reasonably well.  There is a lot of silly in it and it is very American centric in that it has that 90's American egotism that looks a lot more quaint these days.  I'm not going to carry on watching disaster movies.  They are really weird to watch whilst we are experiencing disasters.  Mainly because it shows governments having some competence.  The film comes across as so optimistic despite its really bitter sweet ending.  I also remember it being more epic.  The film felt smaller, and that was a disappointment.

I don't know whether I will watch a film this evening.  I've been watching a film almost every evening for the last few years, mostly ones I hadn't seen before.  I feel a real need to break the habit.

repoman

Quote from: Keef Monkey on 22 June, 2020, 04:50:29 PM

Sequence Break, a horror on Shudder about an arcade cabinet repair guy who starts working on a mysterious game that starts doing...weird stuff. It plays out like a long Black Mirror episode really. It's pretty creepy and has some good ideas and genuinely icky moments, it also has a nice bumbling love story which gives it a lot of heart. It just feels again a bit dull and repetitive at times and the low budget is definitely felt in places. Interesting though, in that 'didn't love it but glad I watched it' sort of way.

SOLD!


Robin Low

Quote from: Keef Monkey on 22 June, 2020, 04:50:29 PM
Twister, which I've never seen but is one of my wife's favourite films from her youth so whenever it came up she was incredulous that I'd ever watched it. Finally sorted that, and it's pretty damn good! Always love Paxton and him and Helen Hunt are both excellent, pretty much all the effects hold up surprisingly well, properly exciting and also very touching in places. Glad I finally saw it!

It is great fun, and I'm sad that I'm unlikely to ever see it in the cinema again. Feeling your sternum vibrate to the roar of the wind adds to the experience!

Regards,

Robin

The Enigmatic Dr X

In the Light of the Moon on Netflix

Avoid.

Totally ignores the grandfather paradox it creates, spoiling what was a decent time travel flick for anyone with even a passing knowledge of sci-fi.
Lock up your spoons!