Topic: Movie thread.

@Gryffin @jump Episode II is better than all three sequel trilogy movies @ me.

@Kermit1 Why am I being @ed at? I'm not overly a Star Wars fan so wouldn't have much to add to the discussion. Indiana Jones is the main interest from Lucasfilms for me.

But if you want my take on Star Wars, I remember seeing The Star Wars 4 even though I had not seen the first 3 but apparently they came out after the 4th one which is weird. It must be like those James Bond films that can be watched in any order so I will watch the newest The Star Wars next.

It's really odd, I think it's meant to be a generic fairy tale about cult wizards, warrior teddy bears and saving princesses but they had some left over sets and costumes to some other sci-fi film so they changed some things around to fit it in but the tone/plotting stayed the same so it's a really odd mix. Maybe they are trying to rip off Star Trek which was big at the time?

It's about two robot slaves on a mission to save the princess who owns them but the movie gets bored following them so it switches to following an aryan blonde haired kid who complains he's not allowed to join the space Nazis. He sees the princess and really fancies her so decides to switch sides to peruse her, I hope they get together, however for the aryan kid to get his prize he needs the help of some old wizard. The old wizard wears some dirty robes from living in cave away from society, maybe he has a restraining order so he's not allowed near certain places, he says he's been watching the young boy for years and really likes him so he offers him a present, the young boy takes the present from the stranger and agrees to go off with him in his car. The aryan blonde haired kid's parents dies which is why he doesn't know about stranger danger.

There's some kind of other wizard in black who works for the government and is fighting activist terrorists ensuring there's proper law and order whilst this is all going on. The dirty old wizard takes the young boy to a bar where he meets a bear and the guy from Blade Runner (the first one, not the better new one) however he seems less interested in this sci-fi film than that Blade Runner film so his acting is kinda lazy. They form a party like in an RPG rather than actual party, they seem to get lost and end up on a government base but rather than talking to the authorities they try to be sneaky to cause trouble, what a bad example they are setting in this children's film! At one point the black wizard and the dirty robed wizard fight and it's just two old men whacking their glowsticks in a very anti-cinematic way. They kinda just poke at each other and the only time they hit each one of the actors just disappears, I'm assuming the stunt double was meant to be in this shot but they lost the footage.

The dark knight successfully keeps the dirty old man away from the young boy however the young boy starts hanging out with some activist terrorists who decide to blow up a government building, again a really bad example this is setting for the children watching the film and it's even worse that the activist terrorists actually do blow it up! The movie ends with the activist terrorists patting themselves on the back apart from the bear who's not allowed a medal, those activist terrorists are racist too!

@Kermit1 I mean, yeah. The sequel trilogy is just absolute garbage. As much as I dislike Episode II and the prequel trilogy as a whole, it's still much better than the Disney dumpster fire. At least it keeps a coherent plot and adds to the world, despite its bad acting and horrible dialogue.

The Disney trilogy is basically the opposite. It has solid acting and dialogue, but it fails to expand on the world of Star Wars in any meaningful way. It's basically just a retelling of the OT.

@jump mistakes were made, I didn't mean to @ you.

@Rambler If only in The Star Wars 4 the dirty old man was offering the supple adolescent just sweets, he was offering him somekind of glowing phallic toy. Eww!

Movies I watched a couple weeks ago. Just got a PS5 in so my movie intake will probably slow down a bit from now on.

Lupin III: Mystery of Mamo (Blu-Ray)

Very first film in the Lupin III franchise, which sees the the thief's gang mixed up in the machinations of a seemingly immortal wealthy eccentric (the titular Mamo) who aims to burn down & restart civilization with a hand selected group of "superior" individuals.

It's definitely rough around the edges, especially narratively, but I still had a lot of fun with it. It's not as lusciously animated as it's followup (Castle of Cagliostro), however it does do a lot of interesting things with a lot of surreal imagery that really only works in animation, and I think the cast has a bit more personality than they did in the more famous follow up.

I've recently heard that Cagliostro is the best Lupin film for those who don't like Lupin, while Mamo is the best amongst the fan base, but as someone who has only recently watched them both, I enjoy what each of them brings to the table.

Trailer:

Slumber Party Massacre II (Tubi)

Follow up to "the Slumber Party Massacre" that sees the Courtney, the younger sister of that film's MC (Valerie) trying to survive her own, well, slumber party massacre.

I'll give it props for being a much more disturbing film than the first (at least in the buildup to the climax, whether or not there is really a threat or if she's just paranoid) with some really greusome imagery. Plus, the killer's guitar drill is a pretty cool prop.

However I think there's a simplicity to the first film that just works in a way this one doesn't. The very supernatural nature of the threat is completely at odds with the world the first movie seemed to take place in, & there's not even a token reason as to why (he's not the vengeful spirit of the first film's killer, & it's not indicated that her friend's new house is haunted, he just exists, and seems fixated on Courtney for no specific reason). Heck, even the cheesecake on display before stuff goes down is vastly inferior to what the first film offered.

There is a potential twist at the end that makes a lot of this make more sense, although also a lot more pointless.

Trailer:

Die Another Day

Review from October 2022:
I'm confident I've never seen the last act of this movie. I have no recollection of it whatsoever.

But man what a good movie! Ok so a few action scenes at the ice palace are pretty absurd, but the car chase is killer. And maybe the solar mirror and face-off thing and the unnecessary exo-suit are far-fetched, but No Time To Die also has a ridiculous plot about blood genetics murder, or something, so that argument is likewise illegitimate.

In the meantime, we've got a sword fight through centuries of history! A hover craft chase! Michael Madsen! Madonna! The movie just hits one blow after another. And I don't mean that sarcastically. The action is exciting and presented well.

I love Brosnan's Bond, I love both Jynx and Frost, and I'm fond of Graves. He's like a caricature of a Bond villain, and once you've seen the movie you'll understand why. The direction of this movie is highly underrated.

You want to have a good night? Find your nearest Blockbuster and get Tarantino to recommend you a VHS worth rewinding.

Review from January 2019:
Another one that starts off pretty good but loses all of its steam in the second half, therefore becoming relegated to one of the worst Bond films yet. I honestly don't have much to say. Watch the opening 30 minutes or so and then just stop. The ice chase scene has its moments too, but I personally would have preferred more racing and less weapons matching. Oh, and the concept of the ice palace melting was really cool too, and well done, I thought. And the sword fight scene was cool. So it wasn't a total loss.

I always felt Brosnan was a good Bond with some good ideas in his films* ruined by they wanted to make dreadful Roger Moore style camp films with the product placement just getting out of hand. Thankfully Jason Bourne films getting big killed this take of Bond which gave way for a new modern Bond, emo Daniel Craig where he has a chip on his shoulder and is constantly almost about to cry over Eva Green.

*If you look stuff like having a plot twist of the Bond girl is the moustache twirling villain, Bond is on the out as the M15 want's to focus analytics, media moguls, what if Bond didn't escape from the bad guys and becomes a pow, inverting the car chase so it's not him being chased he's chasing them but in a tank etc it in some ways feels more modern than Craig's Bond which slowly moved back into a more traditional Bond.

Top Gun: Maverick

Some really good aerial combat. The callback casting choices were good. There are a few laughs, a little bit of drama (both lighthearted and serious), and a few moments of tension. It all works...except for the moments when Tom Cruise gets emotional. He gets too sensitive too often.

Do I think Pinocchio should ever cry? Nope.

And I think Miles Teller is a hack, but that's my personal bias, I can't stand him.

Overall though, it was a good piece of entertainment. Recommended.

@jump agreed. I feel The World is Not Enough is underappreciated particularly. I definitely recommend trying it again (or for the first time) if you're reading this. Just checked: I have it at 16 on my list (of 25), so that's pretty good.

@magician I still haven't seen Whiplash, but I've been less than impressed by his performances elsewhere. The other one I don't get is Nicholas Hoult. I guess he was fine in Mad Max, but that's it. I watched the newest Charlie's Angels recently, and I was surprised I liked Hoult's performance more than usual. Then I realized it was actually Sam Claflin and I was like oh that explains it. Does active else get them confused?

I've only seen Goldfinger... But I've seen tons of clips of the other ones.

Well there's no time like the present https://boxd.it/2fn8w

@Gryffin Don't worry I can quote the James Bond library.

@Gryffin The World is Not Enough is so odd, you’re watching that awesome French Bond girl (I can’t remember her name) and opposite her is the bloody awful Denise Richards. I have a soft spot for Tomorrow Never Dies as Michelle Yeoh was great in it. Although Goldeneye is the only one of his films I’d really rate as good.

I met Nicholas Hoult once, it was around the time he was on Skins but before he did X-Men. I was at a music festival and he was camped next to me, he’s a lightweight drinker but otherwise seemed nice.

@jump Ah so it was you in that photo.

Had a random hot take of mine pop up in my head whilst I was having a shower so may as well say it while the iron's hot: I find The Jungle Book to be perhaps one of the most boring movies I've ever seen. I saw it for the first time about 3-4 years ago and I quite literally cannot remember anything about it besides the iconic Baloo dance scene (apart from vividly remembering it feeling like a slog to get through the first half hour at least). I haven't seen the live-action remake but I'm not exactly sure I'd like that either based on my experiences with the original. If you like it though, more power to ya: I wish I could be the same.

@Fizza I Second your opinion

I thought the live action remake was pretty good, Christopher Walken as the orangutan was brilliant.

@Fizza @Kermit1 I have a very different experience with Jungle book. It was part of my Childhood and is basically my favorite Disney movie alongside Aristocats. But to each their own of course. I was never a big fan of King of the Lions or Mulan for example so there is that... and i think i never even saw the second Jungle book movie

@Eagly Alright Mr Bob Chapek is worse than Zazzy over at WB.