Topic: Movie thread.

@Kermit1 Same. I'm honestly happy with Netflix, Hulu (which has Disney+ added to it), and Peacock. Actually have Peacock on right now as I type this, albeit a WWE PPV and not a movie.

@Sunsy I'm not a WWE or any fighting sport fan. But I understand why people like it, it's kinda like a play but with body slams lol.

@Kermit1 I'm not a sports fan either, but it is pretty entertaining at times. In the US, Peacock has the entire WWE catalog now. In terms of movies, I like Peacock's selection of movies. Because Universal owns it, there's a lot of DreamWorks stuff (this also includes a few shows, which is why I'm surprised Penguins of Madagascar isn't on it), Despicable Me movies along with the Minions spin-off. Actually, it's how I saw The Bad Guys.

Though, finding the Maya The Bee trilogy on it was a surprise. I like the movie series, honestly, they're kind of underrated IMHO.

@Kermit1 Well Tubi the way i see it, is one of the few free streaming services where you get to watch the bizarre horror movies such as the Fulci and Argento flicks and the lesser known underrated stuff i grew up watching on HBO back in the 1980s such as Nightwing and Evil Toons that was on Cinemax back in the early 1990s.

Saw some movies I saw on HBO Max before they left the service. Some quick thoughts.

Stage Fright: B-tier Hitchcock thriller, but even his B-tier films are worth watching if only for the craftsmanship. I thought the plot was engaging and there was a neat twist near the end. Not top 10 material, but I would put it on par with the likes of To Catch a Thief or Family Plot. The best out of the lot I saw. 7.5/10

Captains Courageous: Old MGM family film. Good, although there was nothing about it that particularly stood out. One thing that was a bit odd was the boy that was supposed to be American had an English accent. 7/10

The Asphalt Jungle: Film noir crime film that's about a jewel heist. I've seen this one before and was disappointed that it didn't spend enough time showing the planning and execution of the heist. A few years later, I can happily report that enjoyed the movie more. With that being said, it's more good than great. The screenplay is good, but I've seen other noirs with snappier dialog. I also didn't feel that it was as cynical as it could have been. The movie also takes a more realistic (but not documentary-like) approach which is fine, but it does mean that it's not as interesting as it could be. On the plus side the story is easy to follow and the acting is great, particularly Sterling Hayden. If you want a better example of a noir heist, check out The Killing. 7/10

Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The title says it all. Don't go in expecting high art and you'll have a pretty good time. In a lot of ways it reminds me of Tremors in the way that spoofs '50's sci-fi (although Klowns also leans heavily in the horror genre), though I felt Tremors was funnier. The special effects and especially the clown suits were also great considering the low budget. 7.5/10

Today, I made the difficult decision to no longer go to the movie theatre and wait for movies to release on streaming. Watching a movie on the big screen has become too expensive. Not only do tickets cost €15 to €18 a pop, I also have to pay for public transport which costs me €11 for a two-way ticket. Not to mention the ridiculous prices they ask for refreshments at the theatre.

All-in-all, spending 2 hours watching a movie came to around €30 for me. It never bothered me much in the past but the inflation this year made me reconsider my expenses. Maybe once things turn around again and life becomes more affordable I'll go back to the movie theatre but for now, I guess that was it.

I spend days contemplating this decision because it's one of my favourite hobbies, but sometimes one has to do the hard thing. First world problems, I know. Oh well... I'll get over it... eventually.

@seaboyluca I have not been to the cinema where I live since Trainspotting 2, so 2017, our cinema "The Mallard Cinema" is awful, it's not even a big screen, some people have bigger screens at home.

@Bunkerneath
That theatre looks absolutely horrible. I'm so sorry to hear that's your only option.
I can't believe too many people would pay for something like that. How much do they charge for a ticket?

@seaboyluca Adult Ticket £ 7.25, kids £ 6.20 so not bad for the smell of old popcorn and legs crushed unless on the end.

Thing is whenever I go away I always look for the nearest cinema and hope something good is on as I love going to a proper big screen. I gladly pay £15 for a good cinema

@seaboyluca I also like to point out, while streaming services exist, some studios do their movies via VOD rentals. Don't know if it compares to a ticket, but it's $20 for renting a movie currently in theaters, for 48 hours. At least the benefit is you can have popcorn at home and it won't be stale... looking at you AMC. Yes, I still stand by that mom and pop theater having the freshest popcorn.

FWIW, I usually get a ride with a friend as we like going to the movies together. I still like the experience, but I'll save the movie trip for movies I really really want to see more than anything (as of now, it's Guardians of the Galaxy 3 and Trolls 3, all of which are next year, unless something else interests me comes along too) or if my friend is seeing something and I'll tag along to get out of the house for a bit.

@Bunkerneath @seaboyluca I got one better, a now abandoned theater where I live had a smaller theater that was a skinny long hallway. Rows of four seats on each side, and the screen is smaller than holding your phone out at arms length.

Amusing part, that theater had bigger rooms too, been to it once before it closed.

More movie thoughts (watched these yesterday):

The Tenant: Psychological horror-thriller about a man who rents an apartment with a troubled past directed by Roman Polanski. Like his other two apartment films, Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby, there's a real sense of paranoia. In all fairness a lot of films from the '70's were infused with paranoia, though Polanski was doing this before Watergate. The acting is good, although I wasn't particularly blown away by it. My biggest gripe is with the pacing. While I don't mind watching a slow burner, The Tenant is a bit too slow unfortunately. That's not to say it's uninteresting, far from it, but there's too much time showing the protagonists life in and out of the apartment before the paranoia really takes hold. Compare this to his other apartment films where the paranoia takes hold much earlier, and neither of those films have a particularly fast pace. Really it all comes down to pacing issues for me. I know I'm probably being a bit too negative (if you're still reading my ramblings), but I did like The Tenant. Despite it's leisurely pace it still kept my attention, which can't be said for other films I've seen that have the same problem. If you are a fan of these slower horror films you'll probably get more out of this than be, but every one else be aware. 7/10

Also watched the director's cut of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, directed by Robert Wise. I've avoided the original because I've heard it's not good, but I heard the director's cut was better. It's weird because it feels like a Star Trek film, but at the same time it doesn't. I'll explain. The plot is cerebral and feels very Star Trek. It's about a cloud that seemingly destroys anything that it comes in contact with. Naturally, the Enterprise investigates. Unfortunately, it's missing much of the humor and character dynamics that The Original Series is known for. The acting in general felt very restrained. The only character who wasn't affected was Spock, he's honestly one of the more emotional characters. Bones had some funny dialog, but he also felt like a step down from his TOS characterization. Then there's poor Kirk. They don't even let Shatner ham it up, which is strange for TOS standards. It felt like they were trying to do a 2001 without the cryptic plot. This is especially apparent in the pacing, which moves at a glacial pace. I liked looking at the nice visuals too, but can we get a move on already? People also complain about the lack of action, but it's not like every TOS episode was brimming with action either. It all reminds me of another Robert Wise film, The Andromeda Strain. It also has a slow pace and restrained acting, although there is some excitement near the end. Fortunately regarding Star Trek, these issues are rectified in the sequel. What's also interesting is the plot is awful similar to a TOS episode, "The Changeling".

On a more positive note, I thought the visuals were exceptional. The director's cut adds in some CGI, and I thought it was extremely well integrated. It's a good thing it has great visuals too, because you'll be looking at them an awful lot without anything else happening. Also get ready to see plenty of shots of the Enterprise crew staring in amazement. The film score was great, going for a more epic feel. I can see why the main theme was reused for The Next Generation, why fix something that isn't broken? What also helped make this movie into something more is when it was revealed what was controlling the cloud. All in all, this is a bizarre beast. While it's a great piece of sci-fi, it's also a mediocre representation of TOS. I still liked it even with it's flaws. It's just a terrible starting point for anyone who's interested in TOS. 7.5/10

Saw Lightyear tonight, it's on Disney+ right now. Honestly, that movie ended up being better than I was anticipating it to be. Not my favorite Pixar movie, but the movie picked up more towards the end, and I like that. The only thing I didn't like was the first half. I'll go into it in the spoilers. The concept of Buzz flying into the future and not aging just felt weird to me. I get what they were going for, but it felt odd, and it dragged on for a bit. The latter half of the movie made up, and I wasn't expecting the plot twist with Zurg being future Buzz. The action moments in the second half were fun. Also, loved Sox, and he was my favorite part of the movie. Reminded me of my cat too.

Ended up enjoying it more than I was expecting to. Even though it's not one I'd go to the theater to see, or rush to buy a DVD of day one.

Wow, they canned the Batwoman movie. It was 90% done. Thanks Discovery for cancelling a bad movie.

Wow, they canned the Batwoman movie. It was 90% done. Thanks Discovery for cancelling a bad movie.

Questionable at best and downright stupid at worst. They should at least release it on HBO Max, but they’ve started laying off 70% of their workforce, so whoever’s left can figure it out.

@Sunsy Kinda the opposite for me. I liked the first 20 minutes of the movie right before the time travel stuff, then it got worse, and worse, and worse. Also the villain plot twist was stupid, but it's not like I can think of anything better. Maybe him being his actual father. Still a decent movie. I would say this is a 6/10 film. Not horrible, but also disappointing. I liked Turning Red a lot more, that was a 9/10 for me, I recommend that much more.

Heard about the Batwoman and Scoob Holiday Haunt movies' cancellation outside of this website. I think it's a bummer. A bunch of people's passions and work kinda just flushed down the drain.

Even if, even if both movies were absolutely horrible, you'd might as well just release it at that point, like it's already basically finished.

I think it pains me even more that so many other stuff was cancelled, especially things that were beloved or underrated.

All of these, with the exception of Chad and CNN+, were all great shows or projects or anticipated movies.
(Note: Snowpiercer is still getting a season 4)
I seriously hope they don't cancel much more projects, because if they cancel Smiling Friends, I'm gonna f---ing cry. You already broke my heart by cancelling Close Enough, Warner Bros. Discovery, if you touch Cartoon Network or anymore of Adult Swim, I'm gonna lose it.

So yeah pretty cringe :/

@HotGoomba That sucks, I mean all that work for nothing. This is a business where people like to see their very hard work, from the craft (food) table people to the directors all that effort is now gone.

I want to focus on being a writer/director when I graduate. Seeing this and franchises hold such power, and also the power studios have, hurts me.

@HotGoomba

@HotGoomba Apparently it’s because of tax reasons. The US has some stingy tax laws. Hear about that person that won $1.2 billion in the lottery, and only received less than half a billion because of how much was slashed out due to tax? I dunno, this whole thing feels like some kind of fever dream. It’s better to put it out there to give credit to the filmmakers, crew, and actors that put hard work into it in spite of how bad it could be. At least Disney have the war chest to spend it on shows that despite their mediocrity sometimes, actually see a release.