Last movie watched...

[Rara Avis]

I stand corrected - thank you!

I don't watch a lot of horror movies on account of having a very overactive imagination.
I still check under my bed for monsters, I'm 37.

Re: Who Took Johnny?

[spoiler]Epic levels of WTF??? Wasn't it odd that the one day his Dad did not go with him he was abducted? Why were the police so reluctant to look for him? Why wouldn't they interview Paul Bonacci? Was that really him that showed up on the mother's doorstep all those years later? Where is he now? Jesus H Christ. WHO SENT HIS MOTHER PICTURES OF YOUNG BOYS BOUND AND GAGGED?[/spoiler]

[HdE]

Thanks to being nagged by my dad to 'switch off the computer and do something fun for a couple of hours' last night, I finally got to watch Rogue One on Blu Ray.

Well... it got me away from the computer for a  couple of hours.

That, ladies and gents, was a truly atrocious movie. Bereft of life, horribly acted for the most part, full of unnecessary padding and saddled with horribly inconsistent logic. I am simply amazed that there are folks out there who like it.

It's without a doubt the worst Star Wars movie I've ever seen. And certainly the worst Gareth Edwards movie I've seen. If I was done with the franchise before, I'm doubly done with it now.

[SIP]

Thanks to being nagged by my dad to 'switch off the computer and do something fun for a couple of hours' last night, I finally got to watch Rogue One on Blu Ray.

Well... it got me away from the computer for a  couple of hours.

That, ladies and gents, was a truly atrocious movie. Bereft of life, horribly acted for the most part, full of unnecessary padding and saddled with horribly inconsistent logic. I am simply amazed that there are folks out there who like it.

It's without a doubt the worst Star Wars movie I've ever seen. And certainly the worst Gareth Edwards movie I've seen. If I was done with the franchise before, I'm doubly done with it now.

I posted on another message board recently that I was baffled by the number if people comparing this film to the original trilogy and stating that it was an equal to empire. Needless to say I got a curt response. It is certainly rank last out of all the star wars films for me. Some nice sequences but by no means a consistent film, you can see its hasty re-edits and re-shoot tinkering throughout. It's major crime is that it's mostly dull.

[von Boom]

Thanks to being nagged by my dad to 'switch off the computer and do something fun for a couple of hours' last night, I finally got to watch Rogue One on Blu Ray.

Well... it got me away from the computer for a  couple of hours.

That, ladies and gents, was a truly atrocious movie. Bereft of life, horribly acted for the most part, full of unnecessary padding and saddled with horribly inconsistent logic. I am simply amazed that there are folks out there who like it.

It's without a doubt the worst Star Wars movie I've ever seen. And certainly the worst Gareth Edwards movie I've seen. If I was done with the franchise before, I'm doubly done with it now.

I won't argue with you. While I felt it was better than the prequels it is by no means a great film.

Still, it's head and shoulders above Independence Day: Resurgence, which I finally allowed myself to be goaded into watching. Horrible film from start to finish with not a single redeeming quality. Blech.

[Smith]

Thanks to being nagged by my dad to 'switch off the computer and do something fun for a couple of hours' last night, I finally got to watch Rogue One on Blu Ray.

Well... it got me away from the computer for a  couple of hours.

That, ladies and gents, was a truly atrocious movie. Bereft of life, horribly acted for the most part, full of unnecessary padding and saddled with horribly inconsistent logic. I am simply amazed that there are folks out there who like it.

It's without a doubt the worst Star Wars movie I've ever seen. And certainly the worst Gareth Edwards movie I've seen. If I was done with the franchise before, I'm doubly done with it now.

I agree.I was just too afraid to say it online.

[Dandontdare]

I enjoyed it far more than any SW film since the original trilogy

[Hawkmumbler]

I fudging loved it.

[Jim_Campbell]

I enjoyed it far more than any SW film since the original trilogy

Likewise, although I haven't yet seen it at home, which may be a different experience.

[HdE]

This, ladies and gents... THIS is the comment on Rogue One I most agree with here (so far.)

I posted on another message board recently that I was baffled by the number if people comparing this film to the original trilogy and stating that it was an equal to empire. Needless to say I got a curt response. It is certainly rank last out of all the star wars films for me. Some nice sequences but by no means a consistent film, you can see its hasty re-edits and re-shoot tinkering throughout. It's major crime is that it's mostly dull.

That dullness aspect is what really struck me. A film about war in space, with spaceships and walking personnel carriers and robots and aliens and everything should NOT feel like a chore to watch.

What got me most was how shockingly inept the writing and direction were. I hasten to add, I don't like to be *that guy* who harps on about things he didn't like about a film when other folks have said they enjoyed it, but this film is BAD.

Just off the top of my head, here are serious problems things that leapt out at me:

1. Gareth Edwards' direction on this film is deplorably bad. There's an ACTUAL drama shot in this film of STUFF FALLING OVER. Not important stuff. Just stuff. It reminded me of a dire cable TV film I saw years ago that featured an inexplicable close up of a car exhaust after said car had parked. Me and my dad actually looked at each other agog at that point. Sort of similar to this shot was the heavy handed reveal of the Master Switch during the final act. Oh look! There's a computer console with a dirty great yank handle on it. That must be it.

Other offenses: multiple establishing shots - mostly of spaceships flying about or coming in to land, which bloat out the first act to a ridiculous degree. As well as failing to properly establish (at least visually) one key detail late in the film, that being that [spoiler]the Death Star is capable of hyperspace travel.[/spoiler]

2. Wonky character arcs. Critically, the lead character's. Jyn Erso grows up disinterested and resentful of the Rebel Alliance because 'all it's brought her is pain.' Then later in the movie, after [spoiler]her dad gets blown up [/spoiler] she's suddenly giving speeches to the Rebel Alliance about how important they are and how they're built on a foundation of hope.

Wait - WHAT?! This woman just witnessed [spoiler]her OWN FATHER being blown up BY THE REBEL ALLIANCE![/spoiler] And that doesn't further the idea she's developed that the Rebel Alliance is a bad thing? As Chris Griffin might say: UWHAAAAAAAAT?!

3. The blind space not-a-Jedi. Holy crap this was a fumbled play! A potentially awesome concept. And in execution, at least early on, it WAS awesome. But, how is it that this blind space samurai is able to take out an entire beach of stormtroopers with naught but a stick, fire a gun at a moving airborne target with pin sharp accuracy, sense that he's having a hood placed over his head in an earlier scene, but then, [spoiler]when he goes out to yank the Master Switch... starts fumbling about for it on the console?! [/spoiler]

Come to think about it... how trusting are those Rebel types to hand over a weapon to a blind guy with an overt devotion to a wacky space religion?


So, while I'll defend until death anybody else's right to enjoy this movie and be genuinely entertained by it... I'll also defend until death my own verdict that it's complete and utter balls.

Our Blu Ray has been ebayed at a profit of (shockingly!) 200%. I have no words.

My apologies in advance if the above upsets folks who enjoyed the film. I don't want to poop on anyone's parade. But I DO like to encourage folks to question the quality of their entertainment.

[HdE]

In fact, just to undo a little of my above bitterness, I'm going to share something more positive:

Over the weekend, I saw a movie I'd been curious about for a bit but reluctant to actually pick up - mostly because these kinds of things have a habit of proving unsatisfying when you actually sit down in front of them.

But I was wrong this time! The Shallows, which is all bout Blake Lively being stranded on a rock with nothing but a flightless seagull and a ravenous people-hungry great white shark, is actually rock solid stuff.

It's a really good looking movie on Blu Ray, with some really spectacular cinematography. The only downside is that the HD experience does reveal some inconsistent CG. There are shots that look pretty obviously composited and poorly keyed i[spoiler][/spoiler]n, while in others, the effects are VERY convincing.

Blake Lively is absolutely fantastic in the film, and I was really pleased to see that, while there are some gruesome moments, the film doesn't skew towards outright gore or gratuitous shock tactics.

Only two minor quibbles: I didn't care for the tweenybopper songs that got inserted into the movie, because I'm old now, and the entire film seems predicated on one rather shoddy bit of happenstance. The shark in this film is depicted as a single minded murder machine, and yet, early on, [spoiler]it bites Blake Lively's character and lets her go with comparatively little fuss.[/spoiler]

BUT! Minor complaints aside, it's a surprisingly good movie. If you haven't seen it yet, and it appeals, see it in Hi-Def.

And now I'm off to letter comics.

[von Boom]

In fact, just to undo a little of my above bitterness, I'm going to share something more positive:

Over the weekend, I saw a movie I'd been curious about for a bit but reluctant to actually pick up - mostly because these kinds of things have a habit of proving unsatisfying when you actually sit down in front of them.

But I was wrong this time! The Shallows, which is all bout Blake Lively being stranded on a rock with nothing but a flightless seagull and a ravenous people-hungry great white shark, is actually rock solid stuff.

It's a really good looking movie on Blu Ray, with some really spectacular cinematography. The only downside is that the HD experience does reveal some inconsistent CG. There are shots that look pretty obviously composited and poorly keyed i[spoiler][/spoiler]n, while in others, the effects are VERY convincing.

Blake Lively is absolutely fantastic in the film, and I was really pleased to see that, while there are some gruesome moments, the film doesn't skew towards outright gore or gratuitous shock tactics.

Only two minor quibbles: I didn't care for the tweenybopper songs that got inserted into the movie, because I'm old now, and the entire film seems predicated on one rather shoddy bit of happenstance. The shark in this film is depicted as a single minded murder machine, and yet, early on, [spoiler]it bites Blake Lively's character and lets her go with comparatively little fuss.[/spoiler]

BUT! Minor complaints aside, it's a surprisingly good movie. If you haven't seen it yet, and it appeals, see it in Hi-Def.

I agree completely. I saw this some time ago and was very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It was a solid film with some good tension and not overly gory. I was also surprising as I'd never heard of the Lively lass before.

If you like sharky, bitey films, this one is quite a treat.

And now I'm off to letter comics.

Just don't let the shop owner catch you at it.

[Goaty]

It only a film

[Professor Bear]

The Force Awakens set the bar pretty low for future Star Wars films, but I have to be honest and admit that Rogue One was okay.  I think a lot of criticism of it isn't objective, though, being mostly a mix of nitpicks and confirmation bias best summed up by those tutting at Darth Vader being in it and insisting there's no reason for him to be there.

On a personal note, it felt like the first "proper" Star Wars film I'd seen since the original series.  The story didn't feel very Star Warsy - except in a sort of "backup comic strip in a Marvel UK comic from around 1982-83ish" kind of way - but the trappings, the atmosphere, the unrushed direction of characters and scenes felt more like the original trilogy than the Prequels or The Force Awakens did - especially the climactic space battle.

[HdE]

It only a film

I like you.

[Goaty]

I will waiting for Special Edition or Director's Cut in 10 years time for those missing scenes.