Last movie watched...

[Jim_Campbell]

Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania

Well, I have to say: I have no idea what all the sniffy reviews are on about. Quantumania is fine, in fact it's pretty good.

Jonathan Majors' Kang is a terrific villain, the main cast are all as good as you'd expect from previous outings — Pfeiffer and Douglas both get a decent amount to do. Fewer jokes and more action, but the good jokes land well.

No, it's not going to change the world or redefine cinema as we know it, but the film looks great and rattles along engagingly without outstaying its welcome.

There are mid-credit and end-credit sequences. Mid-credit is definitely more significant than the end one, but worth sitting through for them both if your bladder permits.

[broodblik]

Well, I have to say: I have no idea what all the sniffy reviews are on about. Quantumania is fine, in fact it's pretty good.

That is the reason why I actually start to do the opposite, if the movie critics love it I ignore it if the hate it I make a point of seeing it. This is working like a charm.

[pictsy]

Prey

Finally got around to watching this.

Better than the previous two attempts at Predator films by a country mile (four if we're counting the AvP films).  The call backs to the original film were perhaps entirely unnecessary, but I am not going to hold it against the film.  The lead is a boss, both character and performance wise.  I like it.  Which makes for three Predator films I like. 

[wedgeski]

We rewatched Predator 2 last week. God almighty, that film is a pile of shit. One good shot of the predator in strobe lights crawling across the roof of a tube train doesn't rescue it, unfortunately.

[The Legendary Shark]

Caligula (1979). A vile and horrid film that could've been great if only they'd devoted the many scenes involving tits and knobs to character development and the very few scenes involving character development to tits and knobs.

[Hawkmumbler]

Caligula (1979). A vile and horrid film that could've been great if only they'd devoted the many scenes involving tits and knobs to character development and the very few scenes involving character development to tits and knobs.

One of the greatest movies ever made, looking forward to the reconstruction cut dropping later this year which promises more vile tits and knobs.

[pictsy]

All I ever remember of that film is the mass decapitation scene.

[Definitely Not Mister Pops]

No Judge Fish or Aaron.A.AArdvark.


Worst. Adaptation. Ever

[broodblik]

Watch John Wick 4 yesterday afternoon. This movie moves at a frantic pace, it just stops a few times for the audience to catch their breath. This is an all-action over-the-top no mercy slugfest showdown of a movie. So, if you like the ones before you love this. I especially liked how the last scene played out. Highly recommend, 5 stars.

[Jim_Campbell]

Dungeons & Dragons: Hono(u)r Amongst Thieves

File this one alongside the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, under "Way Better Than A Movie Based On A Licensed Property Has Any Right To Be".

Not only an enormous amount of fun, but recognisably D&D throughout. Engaging characters, good jokes, memorable monsters, well-staged set pieces, a hilarious riposte to Smaug from The Hobbit (movies)...

I haven't played (A)D&D in (Christ!) probably thirty-five years, but this kind of felt... right.*

(Also a fantastic throwaway gag/Easter egg for D&D Fans of a Certain Age™.)

I would very happily watch another half-dozen movies in this vein. Even if you're not THAT kind of nerd, this is a lot of fun.

* OK, my D&D campaigns were a little closer to the Dark Ages and a little further away from the Renaissance than the tone this hits, but the thing D&D always had going for it was its flexibility in accommodating a wide range of fantasy styles. Nonetheless, this pretty much feels like a decent D&D scenario.

[Barrington Boots]

Another thumbs up for D&D.

First half of the film was a bit of a mess, but it's charm carried it through. Once the team was assembled and the plot started to focus it was great. Accessible enough to non-nerds but enough nods to the game and setting to keep nerds like me happy.
Loved seeing some of the iconic monsters on-screen. The paladin character was fantastic and the dragon was even better.
It definitely had the feel of an actual D&D adventure.

[wedgeski]

Two thumbs up from me. The trailer had me optimistic and the film exceeded all expectations. Great script, absolutely hilarious in places (who didn't guffaw at the paladin walking in a straight line?), and a good emotional centre. I've grown tired of Chris Pine over the years but he anchored D&D like a pro. I hope we get another.

[Link Prime]

A rare cinema twofer at the weekend, and even more unusually, both were worth the trip:

The Super Mario Bros Movie (watched with kids) - insane fun. Perfect tone, beautiful animation, faithful to the game series. This is a winner for Nintendo, as the box office receipts are showing.

Air (watched with somber mid-forties men) - Surprisingly great. Affleck adds another gold star to his resumé. And that 80's soundtrack is phenomenal too.

[Hawkmumbler]

Yet another pair of thumbs for for D&D: HAT ( ), now that was rollicking good fun.
Tight, self contained high fantasy guff that really doesn't outstay it's welcome. Have absolutely no affinity for the broader IP but I'm glad this was made.

[Dandontdare]

Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania
Jonathan Majors' Kang is a terrific villain,

He was due to be the big bad over several movies, but I imagine hasty rewrites are being done at Disney HQ right now: https://bgr.com/entertainment/jonathan-majors-future-as-kang-seems-unlikely-but-marvel-is-keeping-quiet/

Watch John Wick 4 ...Highly recommend, 5 stars.

I liked the first and watched the next two, but the law of dimishing returns kicked in and I jsut got bored. I liked the air of mystery in the first, but mystery isn't allowed any kmore, we demand exposition and backstory. The more iof that ther was, the less intetersting the story became (I folwed a similar trajectory of waning ineterst reading 100 Bullets) Mentioning this on another forum I had lots of people tell me that 4 is actually the best of the lot, so I may give it a go.

Caligula (1979). A vile and horrid film

It's hilarious though how they sneakilly got A-list stars like Peter O'Toole to make a porn film - they filmed all the actorly bits, then filmed all the hardcore orgies using the same sets and extras, releasing two versions of the film, the theatrical cut with bums'n'boobies, and the porn version with full-on orgies.