Topic: Movie thread.

Watched Terminator: Genisys this past weekend.

Hoo boy.

I am a fan of the Terminator franchise in general, but this movie ... ugh. There was some good stuff going on in the movie for sure, but as a whole, it was thoroughly disappointing. Bad casting, huge plot holes, writing that is just a mess, uneven tone, failure to follow its own internal rules and logic in the storytelling (which, to be fair, is a common problem in time travel movies), surprisingly weak CGI ... disappointing is really the best way to describe it.

At the end of the day, i did enjoy the good parts of it (though glad that i didn't pay anything to see it). I will say that it's better than Terminator: Salvation — though that's certainly damning it with faint praise, since Salvation was absolutely horrible.

It's Cinema Nihongo Thursday! This week I watched Picture Bride (Netflix/Japanese language film).

Set in the 1910's, it's about a teenage Japanese girl (named Riyo) who was sent off into an arranged marriage with a farmer in Hawai'i after her parents died. The thing is however, that they only know each other by the pictures they have seen of each other (this was common in Asia back then, when matchmakers were trying to set up long distance pairings), and her husband's photo was out of date (turns out he's in his mid 40's).

It's a very by the books romance story, where she wants to do nothing else but return to Japan in the beginning, though over time she learns to love her new home & husband. There is one really shocking thing that happens near the end, but I won't spoil it.

It's not bad by any means, but it won't win you over unless you already like these kinds of films. It's not my sort of film, but I was happy to jump out of my comfort zone & try something different.

It's Cinema Nihongo Thurdsay! This week I watched the Key of Life (Netflix/Japanese language film)!

Comedy about an out of work actor who decides to switch lives with an random amnesiac man who fell in the public bath (since no one there knew who either of them were, he switched their locker keys). Luckily for our actor, neither him nor the man he switched lives with have anyone close to them, but unluckily for him, the reason for that is because he just stepped into the shoes of a hit man. The two try to get used to their new lives, while an ultra organized businesswoman also gets involved in the antics.

It's not my favorite movie I've seen this year, but it's probably the best comedy I've seen in quite some time. It has mature elements while not resorting to the cheap raunchy antics & F-bombs that many western comedies are filled with nowadays.

Got dragged by a friend to go see Maize Runner 2. It is mediocre. I constantly wish that Mad Max and Fursoia came in to take the plot away from these boring characters.

@Waveboy
Turbo Kid does not dissapoint. One of my favorite movies for the year.

Watched Willow Creek recently. If you like found footage movies, give this a shot.

I watched Big Hero 6 (DVD) tonight!

Absolutely fantastic. At times humorous, emotional, or action packed, and it looked absolutely gorgeous all the time.

While Wreck-it-Ralph & Frozen were steps in the right direction, BH6 is undoubtedly the best Disney animated film in well over a decade. The most enjoyable since Treasure Planet, or maybe even their 90's renaissance.

Everest was a bore. And really, really depressing. Maybe I'm not the type of person for deep tragedy movies.

Really? I thought Everest was pretty good. It was kinda depressing, but I don't mind that in movies. It was especially cool in 3D

It's time for my Cinema Nihongo Thursday update (yeah, I know I'm a few days late)! Cinema Nihongo gets spooky in October, so this week I watched Ring of Curse (Netflix/Japanese language film)!

Set in a high school, a bullied girl decides to get revenge on her bullies when she discovers how to kill with words. Hiding her curse in rough drafts of the school play, emails, & more, she kills off her bullies one by one. Later revealed that her hatred goes far beyond the school grounds, it's up to a fellow classmate to find out how to stop the curse for good.

Horror isn't my preferred genre, but I figured I'd try some Japanese ones out since Netflix has 3 of them (they had 5, but lost the rights to the two Ju-On movies as soon as October hit, terrible timing). This particular movie was low budget, but a decent watch. It's nothing mind blowing, but I'd say it's at least worth a try, especially around this time of year.

I watched Quest for Fire (Netflix).

I ran across this on Netflix & remembered it being mentioned on an episode of I Love the 80's I saw years ago, so I decided what the heck.

It centers on a group of cavemen who are sent out into the world to find fire, after their tribe's is extinguished in an attack. While there is no intelligible dialog, it's actually quite easy to follow, as they struggle to survive against the threats of the world like saber toothed cats (how they got those fake teeth on those lions I'll never know), bears, a cannibalistic rival tribe, and more. It's not bad, but not great either. More of a curiosity than anything (definitely not for young audiences, either).

I'm watching the movie right now called Blade Trinty

It's Cinema Nihongo Thursday! This week I watched Gun Woman (Netflix/Japanese language film).

It centers around a former prostitute who is being molded into an expert assassin in order to kill the morbidly eccentric son of a Yakuza bigwig. Interestingly enough, there's just as much English spoken as Japanese, since it's set in the western US.

It's low budget, but surprisingly not terrible. Now, it's not great, and the raw brutality will definitely turn some off (I had to look away on more than one occasion), but it managed to hold my attention to the end.

Earlier today I watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2014 (DVD).

A fun popcorn flick, it was perfect for a Saturday afternoon. I especially liked the car chase down the slopes, which was energetic & over the top in all the right ways.

As a disclaimer, I'm not someone who grew up with the series in it's heyday, so I have no nostalgic connection to the characters. Because of that, I have no clue how accurately the film portrayed the world, so I can't judge it on that.

Watched Saints & Soldiers (Netflix).

A WWII film about a small group of allied soldiers stuck behind enemy lines in German occupied France, and they have to find their way back to allied controled territory.

It's nothing revolutionary, but it has a great cast, and like all the other Saints & Soldiers films (which are all on Netflix), it is a very solid WWII film, and who doesn't like a good WWII film every once in awhile?

The Martian was very good. one of my favorite films

The Martian is AMAZING! Please go and see it if it interests you.

@Mario90125:

a 79? To be quite honest, that is way way...more than i expected. I thought it would be like one of those crappy kids movies amid one trying to appeal to nostalgia

It's Cinema Nihongo Thursday! This week I watched Like Father, Like Son (Netflix/Japanese language film).

Two families (one living in the big city with a stern salaryman father, the other who have a fun loving father & live in the suburbs running a small family owned electronic repair shop) realize that their sons were switched at birth, and have to make the tough decision on whether or not to keep the child they've been raising, or to take in their blood related children.

It's not the kind of movie within my normal comfort zone, but I'm glad I branched out. Though it focuses more on the family with the salaryman father, it really makes you feel for both sides, and you're never really quite sure how it'll end up, or even how you personally want it to end.

Tonight I watched American Pie (Netflix).

Definitely ADULT ONLY, but I actually liked it well enough, even though raunchy comedies aren't something I often watch. I've seen the newest entry in the series before, but this the first time I've watched the original.

I saw Crimson Peak the other night, I love Del Toro films as it's always a feast for the eyes and I really liked the old skool gothic/horror thriller vibe, I think it's because I've gotten bored of the state of modern thriller-horror so this came off as refreshing.