Went to see Queen Rock Montreal IMAX on Saturday at my local Cineworld.
It was originally shot in 1981 in very high quality film with the intent to be shown on a large outdoor screen to emulate a Queen concert without the band actually being there. At the time, it was planned to be a competitor to IMAX funnily enough! It didn't work that well and so it was shown in normal cinemas instead for a good number of years.
It's been remastered several times for home releases over the years but this is the first time it's been restored to the size/resolution it was always meant to be viewed and let me tell you, it was such a treat!
Being a pretty big fan of the band, I was already pretty familiar with the concert itself but seeing it in this form was particularly special. The quality was unbeliveable, it was like looking straight into 1981 with the naked eye.
Shame it was only on for one weekend haha!
Even if you have only a little interest in the band this is a must watch as they're on great form both in terms of energy and in they're playing. The blu-ray release can be found pretty easily on Youtube.
Films I've watched over the past month & a half or so. I won't include the annual Christmas movie rewatches, but even so I understand if this is TLDR for most.
The Bullet Train (Blu-Ray) - 70's Japanese flick that inspired works like Speed (terrorists have strapped a bomb to a bullet train that'll blow if it goes below 80 km per hour). This holds up really well & was a good watch.
Clash of the Titans (Blu-Ray) - The 80's version. The special effects were dated as get out (even compared to other stuff I've seen from the era), but it still had a certain charm. I would say I even enjoyed it.
The Flash (Amazon Prime) - Not gonna lie, I actually thought this was pretty fun. It was cringey & lazy how they shoved all those "multiverse" legacy cameos in it, but at least they waited to the last 5 or so minutes to do it. Otherwise it was a pretty fun Back to the Future-esque take on a superhero flick.
Ghost in the Shell: the New Movie (Blu-Ray) - Not as good as the original in many respects, but a decent sci-fi mystery/action film in it's own right.
Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story (Netflix) - I thought the racing itself was fun, but I just couldn't get into the human element of it much at all. Certainly not a patch on something like Ford V Ferrari.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (Blu-Ray) - Picked this up while thrifting around the holidays. I actually thought this was really good... when it was focused on rescuing the dinos from the volcano & the ethics surrounding that. It was much less compelling when it became a mansion bound slasher flick. They should have just made the first half the whole movie.
MEG 2: The Trench (Netflix) - Very much a B-movie, but fun for what it is.
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Blu-Ray) - Still a visually stunning film all these years later, and I love the design of the tech (gunships, tanks, & the like). A rip roaring good time.
No Hard Feelings (Netflix) - It's been a good while since Hollywood has churned out a raunchy comedy that caught my eye, so this was a nice surprise. It's not the greatest thing in the world, but I enjoyed it.
Only Yesterday (Blu-Ray) - Could be a bit slow at times, but it had it's moments & was beautiful like most Ghibli films. Very cozy.
Perfect Blue (Blu-Ray) - Intensely gripping psychological drama. The aesthetic is great and the animation can be a tad rough at times but it totally works with the vibe of the film.
The Punisher (Blu-Ray) - 2000's version. Comic book films have come along way since this released (though you may not know it based on what most of Marvel & DC have released the past couple years), but I actually think this holds up surprisingly well. A pretty good action flick all things considered.
Star Wars: the Force Awakens (Blu-Ray) - Another one I picked up thrifting. Going back into it with no specific expectations, it was actually a pretty fun time. Sure, you probably don't want to think about the narrative too deeply (it's pretty much just A New Hope, but BIGGER!), but as pure popcorn entertainment I may enjoy it more than the originals (don't shoot me, lol).
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (4K UHD Blu-Ray) - I really enjoy the opening act of this one, but for some reason it always kinda loses me once it gets to Endor. I mean it still has some cool action scenes (like the speeder chase through the forest) & iconic moments, so it's not bad by any means, I just kinda zone out. Maybe I've just seen it too many times.
Titanic (4K UHD Blu-Ray) - This was the first time I've actually sat down to watch the whole thing, and it was absolutely excellent (may be my favorite watch in this list, though Perfect Blue comes really close). From the modern submersible excursions of the wreck (and that sub tech looks cool AF even today) to being transported back in time to that fateful voyage it was completely captivating from beginning to end & didn't feel 3 hours long at all.
Transformers (Blu-Ray) - Another thrift score. I actually love the vibe of this movie, from the humor, to the male-gazey bits, to the "American military heck yeah" angle (I was a high school aged white dude when it came out, so it was practically hand crafted for me, lol). However I will agree that the titular bots are over designed and it can be tough to actually follow the action.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Blu-Ray) - Ditto of pretty much everything I said above.
Wonka (Cinema) - I've actually done a write up of this one once already, but I'll include it here for completion's sake. Not the type of thing I'd normally go see at the cinema, but my father wanted to see it so we went together. It was actually a pretty nice family film.
@RR529
Interesting list of movies. I might not have liked some of them, but as long as you enjoyed them, that's all that matters. Movies are subjective after all.
League of Superpets on Netflix last night as it's leaving at the end of the month. Not into superheroes, but wanted to watch this one mostly because I remember Krypto from the old Cartoon Network cartoon. Honestly, ended up being better than I expected. Underrated animated movie, I don't see much talk about this one.
The resident Trolls superfan! Saw Trolls Band Together via early access and absolutely loved it!
@Rambler I raise your The Colour Purple with The Human Centipede The Musical.
@RR529 No Hard Feeling was more enjoyable than I thought it would be, still a rubbish film though. I think what makes the film works for me is the scene where Jennifer Lawrence is in the nude and getting into fist fights, rather than cheap laughs or hiding her bits they treat it like John Wick and just goes for it. Oddly it’s not the only sex comedy comeback this year. I saw Bottoms which is about teen high school lesbians that start a fight club so they can pull cheerleaders.
The Scarjo Ghost In The Shell is so odd, it’s like when Metallica tries to covers Anti Nowhere League or The Misfits, yeah technically it’s far better sounding when they do it but they have just missed the point.
@jump, it actually wasn't the Hollywood GitS, but an anime one (that I think actually released around the same time, IIRC) that capped off the Arise OVA continuity.
Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)
Surprised but also kinda not surprised that Oppenheimer got a staggering thirteen Oscar nominations, it's definitely the shoe-in for Best Picture... Nolan really deserves this one after being snubbed by the Academy for years.
@RR529 oh yeah, I remember watching that movie and groaning about having New in title as it will date itself so quickly. I’m not one of those people who insist if Mamoru Oshii hasn’t worked on Ghost In The Shell it’s pants but they have really watered down some the shows and movies since the first movie.
@jedgamesguy I’ve always found Nolan to be a great but flawed director, whilst Oppenheimer still has some of those flaws he’s improved massively on one of his weak spots as I was actually able to buy into the romance and emotions for once. Normally it’s like coding from his robotic brain trying to simulating love but the love triangle with Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh actually worked this time.
@jump Totally agree with Nolan's flaws, he takes a very emotionally vacant approach to filmmaking and doesn't get the absolute emotional best out of his actors. I realise his most emotionally engaging films: Interstellar, the Dark Knight, Memento, were all co-written with his brother Jonathan, who acknowledged he and Chris have very complementary (opposite) mindsets and traits. Feels like he's the missing piece at times.
Nolan feels very robotic in that he comes across devoid of human impulse. Like on film sets he bans phones and chairs, according to RDJ he uses the bathroom twice a day at the same times, and he has scenes written in his script exactly the way they're presented in the movie (Oppenheimer's intercut narrative was written that way). He's planning in almost the wrong way. But he brings the best out of actors, his crew, his musicians and film itself, so it's worked more often than not lol.
@jump@jedgamesguy
I agree with you guys on Nolan as well. To be honest, while I still like most of his movies, there's few of them I love and the lack of emotional weight is the most important reason why. His incessant need to tell everything out of order is another one for me. He tends to overcomplicate his stories when its not needed, including in Oppenheimer, and I'm not a fan of such narrative styles.
@jump@jedgamesguy
I agree with you guys on Nolan as well. To be honest, while I still like most of his movies, there's few of them I love and the lack of emotional weight is the most important reason why. His incessant need to tell everything out of order is another one for me. He tends to overcomplicate his stories when its not needed, including in Oppenheimer, and I'm not a fan of such narrative styles.
I watched a video where the guy arranged all of Oppenheimer's scenes in chronological order, and when you tell it straight, it's far too predictable and boring to be an engaging narrative from start to finish. The way the movie's edited, characters presented in the black-and-white scenes (like Strauss) are present throughout the entire movie and we're given time to learn about them as the film unfolds.
It's definitely at its worst in Tenet. The whole premise of the movie is the reversal of time yet the film does a terrible job at giving us a cohesive sense of time to appreciate the gimmick. If you want a Nolan film that doesn't mess with out of order scenes though... The Dark Knight is his most pure work. Inception has it but it's much easier to understand though.
@bighirofix Indeed, though I wish they give these movies more time to be on the service. I mean, they added Superpets last month, feels like yesterday I found it under new.
Though, I do still buy Blu-Ray and DVDs of movies I like, so I don't get too worried as I don't rely on streaming exclusively. Latest pickup being Trolls Band Together (man, this came to Blu-Ray really fast, feels like yesterday I was in the theater watching it).
The resident Trolls superfan! Saw Trolls Band Together via early access and absolutely loved it!
@jedgamesguy
I love Inception and The Dark Knight. Those are his two best, imo.
@Sunsy
I agree, movies are released way too fast on Blu-ray and digital services these days.
People skip the theater experience because they know it'll be available to them at home in no time at all.
That's what I like about the European and Japanese strategies. It can take up to a year before their movies are released on home video.
@bighirofix Yeah, I was expecting for Trolls Band Together to be released to Blu-Ray/DVD in a few months, maybe March or April. I saw the movie multiple times between November and December at my local theater.
I still like the theater experience. I think last year was the most I've been to the theater to see a movie. I usually go with my friend, though I did go to the theater for the first time alone last year. Just something neat about seeing my most anticipated movie early, being in a packed theater, and hearing the applause at the end. I was basically in a room filled with Trolls fans. I don't think I'll ever get a theater experience like that again. Happy that was my first solo movie trip.
Didn't know that about movies in Europe and Japan.
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