Topic: Movie thread.

@CinnamonRobin thank you 💚

I know this will probably be a bit TL;DR for most, but here's a list of all the films I've watched over the past few weeks.

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (4K UHD Blu-Ray) - After a wartime video goes viral showing the titular Billy Lynn heroically protecting his commanding officer's body from being taken by enemy forces, his entire squad is sent on a publicity tour back in the States where they must face how disconnected the populace is from their struggle (outside of vague patriotic platitudes) and what it really is they're fighting for.

Godzilla 2014 (4K UHD Blu-Ray) - I think this one is sooo close to being something great, but just makes too many mistakes to quite get there. I love that it spends time building up suspense (the best Godzilla films often don't have much of Big G and have great human drama, after all), but Bryan Cranston is the only one who really puts in a noteworthy performance & it really loses something once he's killed off. Again, I don't really have an issue with the amount of Godzilla, but rather how that time is used (oftentimes it'll completely cut away to something entirely else as soon as he clashes with one of the MUTO, dodging the actual monster fighting). That said, there are some good shots, and a satisfyingly brutal finish. It's also waaay too dark (in terms of lighting), the scene where the MUTO attacks the train is a huge example of this where I could barely see anything except it's glowy spots & the flaming wreckage in the river at the end. A real shame too as it can be a real looker when you can actually see what's going on (like the sequence in the rain where Godzilla & the MUTO descend on San Francisco).

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (4K UHD Blu-Ray) - A tonally confused affair, on one hand resigning itself to being nothing more than popcorn entertainment (any poignant "man vs nature" themes are undercut by Monarch transforming into a facsimile of the MCU's SHEILD, and it starts to dive headlong into the "Hollow Earth" nonsense), but on the other hand it seems like it wants to take itself waaay to seriously with an overdramatic environmentalist message & visually gritty aesthetic. As a big Godzilla fan there are things for me to like here (there are a lot of fan favorite Kaiju here, including a pretty cool version of King Ghidorah that goes pretty hard, though it's so much that it teeters along a similar issue that Spider-Man 3 had with too many big names for one movie), but I wouldn't blame anyone for not liking it.

Godzilla VS Kong (4K UHD Blu-Ray) - At this point the Monsterverse has given up any pretense of offering any sort of compelling human drama (which it was rarely good at anyways, at least not on the level of stuff like Godzilla: Minus One) and lunged head first into being a big dumb monster punch 'em up flick, and honestly, it works. Revelling in the absolute dumbest aspects of it's convoluted lore, it's a film more concerned with having fun than trying to say/do anything meaningful, and boy is it a fun film. Godzilla & Kong's fights are awesome (the best in the franchise), and you never go too long without them tearing through things on screen.

Hancock (Blu-Ray) - Before we had like 6 different versions of "Superman but Evil", we had "Superman but just kind of a jerk in need of some good PR". I think this is pretty fun in the first half when it's working on that core concept, but kinda loses itself when trying to explore lore/backstory & forcing and endgame villain.

the Killer's Game (Cinema) - Dave Bautista plays the best assassin in the game, but wants to get out once he finds a woman and starts developing health issues. Soon it's learned he's come down with an incurible disease, so he puts a hit out on himself so she doesn't have to watch him slowly die & can get his life insurance. He learns that the diagnosis was a mistake and he's going to live, but now only if he can survive the onslaught of eccentric assassins out to get him. I'm pretty sure this just bombed, but honestly I kinda liked it. It's not a masterpiece (and I think kinda tonally inconsistent), but with a lot of creative (& bloody) kills, explosions, and some light female nudity, it's an enjoyable enough "Dude/Dad" film if that's something you're into (not as good as "the Beekeeper" from earlier this year though).

Kong: Skull Island (4K UHD Blu-Ray) - Even as someone who is much more of a Godzilla fan, I'll say that Kong's solo movie is probably the Monsterverse's best. It's really the only one that successfully invests you to it's human cast (you really want to see John C. Reilly's character make it home, and Samuel L. Jackson's Packard is a compelling villain, jaded after pouring his military career into Vietnam with nothing to show for it, he becomes obsessed with taking out Kong, even if it means the deaths of his men that he supposedly cares so much about). There's a lot of imagination on display when it comes to the flora & fauna of the titular island itself, which leads to a lot of exciting encounters, whether it be our group of survivors finding themselves underfoot a massive spider, or the various punch 'em ups Kong winds up in with other beasts. Just a really enjoyable time.

the LEGO Movie (Blu-Ray) - Who knew that a movie about LEGO would be so solid(ly built)? At it's core it's just a family film with a message about how we're all special in it's own way, but it's still one of the most visually stunning/unique CGI animated films from a big studio and the cast is pretty fun, whether it be Will Ferrell hamming it up as unrepentantly evil "President Business" or Will Arnett's "Batman" trying to hard to be cool. Enjoyable watch.

Lone Survivor (Blu-Ray) - Speaking of "Dude/Dad" films, this one goes pretty hard. I can understand that glorifying war (especially something as modern/touchy as recent Mideast conflicts) is going to rub some the wrong way, but I honestly liked this. Based on a True Story (but obviously embellished for movie's sake), it follows Marcus Luttrell, the sole survivor of a small band of Navy Seals who found themselves surrounded by a couple hundred Taliban fighters after getting found out during a reconnaissance mission.

Ranma 1/2: the Battle of Nekonron: the Fight to Break the Rules! (Blu-Ray) - Very by the numbers movie adaptation of a long running Shonen anime. New one off villain shows up to antagonize our protaganists, has just enough henchmen that almost every recurring cast member gets to tag along as they get a fight (though I'm a little salty that Ukyo & Kodachi were who were left behind this go around, lol), but the good guys save the day in the end and go home. For die hard fans of the franchise only (even the animation is nothing special. There are some TV & OVA episodes that look better).

Ranma 1/2: the Battle of Togenkyo: Rescue the Brides! (Blu-Ray) - Much like the first film, it sees the extended cast facing off against a one off movie villain, and although the concept wasn't anything new, I think it was much better executed here. The animation quality was a pretty big jump up (not up there with something seminal like Ghost in the Shell or Memories, but still nice 90's anime vibes), and it was overall much more fun and the cast has never looked better. I'd still likely say this is one for existing fans of the property only, but as a fan I couldn't much tell you what more I could want from a film in this franchise (other than the fact that it completely snubbed Kodachi, the only extended cast member to be left out).

the Shallows (Blu-Ray) - While surfing off of a secluded beach in Mexico, a woman is injured by a shark (which is stalking the area due it being the site of it's latest kill, a whale) and must find a way to get back to land. There's a few contrived moments narratively (how did no one see that huge whale carcass just a few hundred feet from the shore while they were surfing?), but overall it was a tense ride that gripped me throughout and it has some of the most gorgeous scenery shots I've seen in a film.

Zack Snyder's Justice League (4K UHD Blu-Ray) - This is perhaps one of the most epic superhero films ever crafted. Now, I get that a 4 hour+ runtime is a huge ask and that a better storyteller may (should?) have found a way to trim some fat (I could have probably done without the lengthy epilogue added, which was a lot of buildup to stuff he knows he was never going to get to do), but at least it now has the time to build up characters like Cyborg & some of the greater lore behind what is going on. It's certainly better than the theatrical cut though, and the definitive way to watch the film if you decide to do so.

Decided to watch The Garfield Movie as Catflix Netflix is now showing it. Really enjoyed this one, the story between Garfield and his father grew on me over the course of the movie. Also had some cool moments and a twist I did not see coming in it. Overall a good movie.

Only a couple this past weekend, but both pretty amazing.

Braveheart (4K UHD Blu-Ray - Blu-Ray) - I think this may be the first time I watched the whole thing, and it ended up being a pretty great watch (granted, I'm not judging it on historical accuracy as I don't know jack about Scottish/English history). I just love the historical epics of the 90's - 00's (the Patriot, Gladiator, Troy, the Last Samurai, 300, ect), and this fits along nicely. Absolutely gorgeous scenery, brutal large scale battles, it's all here. Unfortunately my 4K copy is borked and turned into a slideshow with no sound around the 55 minute mark, but luckily I was able to finish it as it came with a regular BD copy as well which worked.

Schindler's List (4K UHD Blu-Ray) - Probably the most important film of Spielberg's filmography. I had seen parts of this in class in high school, but this was the first time I watched it in it's entirety, and man was it maybe the best film I've seen in a long time. Certainly brutal & hard to watch at many points, but essential viewing. Really underlines that the Nazi's weren't some over the top cartoon villains, their evil was cold, calculated, and played out on an industrial scale. Chilling stuff, and I absolutely started bawling when they jumped to the modern (well modern in the 90's) footage of the survivors he saved visiting his grave.

I am super hyped for The Wild Robot! I am planning to see it in theaters next week (though I am not sure what day I will go yet...).

Decided to get Alienoid next week. Been noticing my increased interest in films from South Korea. First one I ever saw was "Yonggary, Monster from the Deep".

But now I also wanna see "The Host" as well. Autumn be-eth a good season for movies...& Blu-ray.

@CaleBoi25 I wish I could go see The Wild Robot, but can't due to budget reasons (when I go to a movie, I have to take tickets, drink, and Lyft ride into mind). Hope you enjoy the movie.

Gonna talk about this while it's still on my mind (and because it's a kinda precursor to stuff I'm wanting to see later this year), last week I re-watched Wall-e. Transformers has made me realize how much I love robots. From mechs, side characters in stuff like Star Wars and Sonic, to the fact that Megaman is my 2nd favorite franchise ever, I love mechanical, technological beings. With me wanting to watch Transformers One and The Wild Robot(the latter giving me major Wall-e vibes) when they go digital, I decided to revisit my first robot love.

It's still amazing. It's not even just my personal feelings, it's just a great film. The heart, emotional moments, and characters are terrific. How they use Wall-e himself, especially in the last half-hour or less, is really well done. My favorite animated movie, and maybe even my favorite film period. Not sure tho.

Looking forward to what I'm gonna watch later this year. I heard Transformers One is REALLY good.

Do you like horror movies?
Do you like them completely bonkers, pushing the boundaries in every way?
Do you like them unsettling?
Do you like them hilarious?
Do you want to see boobs, butts, blood and guts?
Do you want a social commentary mixed in there?
Do you want an experience that will be permanently ingrained in your memory?

Go watch The Substance in a room with as many people as you can.

When the credits rolled, the theatre tonight broke out into applause.

It stars Demi Moore, and it's in my top 2 favourite movies of the year.

Don't want to believe me? Well, the critics loved it. It's on track to be one of the top 10 most critically-acclaimed movies of 2024.
Worried it's "artsy-fartsy"? Audience scores (for a horror film) are very high as well.

Got my ticket booked for Joker 2. Looking forward to that!

Watched Luca last night on Disney+ and honestly I didn't enjoy it. I don't know if I am getting older or if it's the direction Disney has gone but I just didn't find it interesting at all. There didn't seem to be a plot at least that I could see and the characters were boring. Maybe I will check out Inside Out 2.

@MontyCircus I'm looking forward to seeing The Substance.

Now, I'm intrigued…which one is your other top film of 2024?

@Tasuki most of what Disney puts out these days is flat out terrible imo. Interestingly enough, Luca has been the only Disney movie I liked in the last decade or so. Might be the setting, though. I'm Italian American and it was nice seeing coastal Italy with all those vibrant colors and characters.

My local Alamo Drafthouse just had a showing of Star Trek: The Motion Picture which was excellent on the big screen. The movie is 50% trippy visuals, a perfect theater film.

The next movie I'm going to the theater for is almost certainly Megalopolis, which I am expecting to be an insane, messy, stupendous boondoggle, and I can't wait.

@NintendoByNature My friend on I were talking about movies in general the other night and to be honest movies in general haven't been interesting to me lately. Use to be there would be at least 4 or 5 movies a year that would interest me now I am lucky if one does. Also the genres just seem stale to me. I am over the Marvel/DC Superhero flicks and as I said Disney just hasn't been doing anything interesting in my opinion. Also I am getting a little burnt out on these movie series. It seems that every movie is a sequel or part of a series that in order to understand you have to watch 5 movies before that one and I just don't have time for that. Not only that but trying to find all the movies to watch in the correct order is a pain cause they don't have all the movies on one streaming service. For example I wanted to watch the Fast and Furious series. I have 1-3 on DVD no problem but finding 4-7 good luck with that. Ones on Netflix, ones on Max two are on Paramount WTF, wouldn't it make more sense to have all of them on the same service?

Nowadays if I watch movies usually it's older stuff that I grew up with that I haven't seen in years.

@Tasuki totally agree with you. On a side note, all the F&F films are on peacock.

@NintendoByNature unfortunately I don't have Peacock.

Deadpool & Wolverine. So my 2 favourite are the biggest box office blockbuster of the year, and one of the smallest.

I've seen 15 movies in theatres so far this year. The other 4 I would recommend are:

• Dune: Part Two
• Civil War
• The Fall Guy
• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

@Tasuki Ugh, not having all the content you want to watch in one place is so annoying, and when you have to buy multiple streaming services just to watch them from how they are all split up is extra annoying. It was a show and not a movie, but I recently wanted to re-watch an anime named Yokai Watch since I was replaying the second game today, and was hoping it could be watched on the anime streaming service I use. However, I searched and discovered it was split up into YouTube TV (which is expensive), Apple TV, and Amazon Prime Video, which made me immediately lose interest in watching it since it is on streaming services I don't even have.

I experienced something similar when I wanted to watch the first film in The Matrix series back in July. We have HBO Max, and since HBO Max is owned by Warner Bros., who in turn owns The Matrix, they should have the first film, right? No, they had all the sequels but the first film, cuz it was on Netflix or something, and there is no way I am going to skip the first film and then go to watch the sequels since that is a very bad idea when watching a film series for the first time.

@NintendoByNature i also loved luca! I haven't seen much of their new stuff outside of that, frozen 2 which i disliked and inside out 2 which was very good. I do hear home things about enchanto so i may watch that eventually...