Topic: Movie thread.

Watched Maleficent (Encore OnDemand HD) last night!

This was a really enjoyable movie, and between all the action, romance, and comedy, there's something for everyone here. The use of CGI was good and helped create a vivid fantasy world, even if it looked a little too fake in certain parts (mainly those mud slinging goblins, and Aurora's fairy god mothers in their fairy forms). All the CGI rendered scenery looked gorgeous, though, as well as other things like the dragon, and Maleficent's flight scenes.

While the narrative wasn't bad, it was a bit different than I was expecting, and I'm still not quite sure what to make of it:

Still, I found it to be an enjoyable film, and think they'll probably update Maleficent in KHIII to closer resemble the design/personality of the character in this movie.

I watched Underworld: Evolution (Netflix) last night!

It's a nice followup to the original, and sees Celine & Michael rushing to stop Marcus (the last elder of her clan) from unleasing an ancient horror upon the world (what that is, I won't divulge). Along the way, more secrets about the history of the centuries long vampire and werewolf (called Lycans here) war is revealed.

It's no film masterpiece, but if you want to see vampires & werewolfs shooting each other up with modern weaponry, it's a decent watch.

Also, I don't know if this is due to dated special effects or as an homage to monster flicks of old, but the werewolf transformations & movement look extra stiff, like they were trying to imitate the look of stop motion movement. I think it was the latter though, as there was a fight scene on a truck (between Michael & Marcus) that had a bit of a red & blue tinged blur, like you were supposed to watch it with those old red & blue 3D glasses (there were even some moments, like when Marcus just hovered in front of the truck for a bit, that implied that's what they were going for here). That's the only one time it was ever done, and it wasn't so blurry as to make it unwatchable, just enough to get the point across.

Ant-Man so spice.
I was really worried during the first half, but once he started learning how to use the suit it really came together.

@Arminillo: Same here. It wasn't super fantastic, but it was pretty darn good. I enjoyed it a lot.

I saw Southpaw the other day. The movie really exceeded my expectations! It's a good film! Jake Gyllenhaal's acting is superb. He nailed his preformance. His acting made his character seem very realistic.

The film has a really dark and sad plot. I didn't expect Southpaw to be so serious. I'm glad it was, though. But, if you have PTSD and you're easily triggered, I wouldn't watch it.

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

It's a B-Movie that forcefully tries to be "so bad it's good", and while I'll admit to being amused at some of it's antics, I also cringed at some of them, and just feel that the "so bad it's good" vibe isn't something that can be replicated successfully on purpose.

It stars a high school baseball phenom who swears off the sport after accidentally killing his father with his best fast ball. He ends up finding himself in a prison reform school after a string of brutally violent vigilantism against Yakuza and other criminals (it's never explained how or why he got into this), and is goaded into competing in the "Juvie League" baseball team by the school's headmistress, who promises to reunite him with his missing younger brother if he does so. However, not all is as it seems, because the headmistress is a staunch Neo-Nazi who believes in eradicating the "unworthy" from Japanese society, so why would she care about using baseball to reform bad kids?

There's a lot of B-Movie antics like fast balls that create firey craters, a killer Nazi baseball cyborg, oodles & oodles of laughably fake gore, and completely random nods to pop culture (such as James Cameron's Avatar). Overall, it's a terrible film, and I could only recommend it to those who love B-Movies of every kind.

I watched Saints & Soldiers: The Void (Netflix)!

Movie set in the waning days of WWII in the European theater. After a bridge is damaged an American troop transport truck has to take a detour through "the Void" (nickname given to the barren battlefields that have yet to be cleaned up) and is attacked by a rogue Nazi tank squadron that hasn't yet surrendered. The two survivors of the transport truck (including African-American officer Jesse Owens) join up with an American tank squadron in order to take out the Nazi resistance before any more transports fall victim to them. However, victory depends on whether or not tank gunner Cary Simms can get over his racial prejudice and work with Owens.

It may not be a big name, but it's a really great watch if you're into WWII films (they even use real tanks). In fact, all the Saints & Soldiers films are good, and I believe all 3 are on Netflix (they aren't sequels to each other, either. All three are set in WWII, but feature independent stories)

I watched Atari: Game Over (Netflix) last night!

It's a documentary exploring the sudden fall of Atari in the early 80's, what (if) the flopping of the E.T. video game had to do with it, and whether or not millions of E.T. game carts were really buried in a landfill.

It's an interesting watch if you're into gaming history.

It's Cinema Nihongo Thursday! This week I watched Shall We Dance? (Netflix/Japanese language film)

Salaryman Sugihara has everything he's ever wanted in life. He's married, has a child, and has even recently acquired his own house, but somehow after all this, he still feels like something's missing. However, he thinks he may have found it when he sees an alluring woman in the window of a ballroom dance studio on the train ride back home. He joins a class in hopes of meeting her, but in Japanese society ballroom dancing is seen as an oddity. Even married couples aren't very touchy feely in public in Japanese society, so imagine the shame if it were to be found out that he's doing such intimate dancing with strangers!

I first watched this years ago on TV (though I forgot where) and loved it, so I figured I'd give it a rewatch it here to see if it still holds up. I still loved it. It doesn't seem like something I'd be interested in, but for whatever reason I really like it. It has a cast of likeable, memorable characters, and a nice mix of drama with genuinely humorous situations.

Even if it doesn't seem like something you'd be interested in, I'd recommend giving it a shot.

Last night I watched Son of God (Netflix)!

A Biblical account of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It's wonderfully made, though as it's made using repurposed footage from History's The Bible (same production company), you'd probably be better off looking for that if you're interested (It was on Netflix too, though I'm not sure if it's still there).

No matter how you watch it though, I'd say it's a good watch for both believers (like me) and for those just looking for some insight into what's behind one of the most influencial religions/philosophies in the world today.

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

Released in 2000, it's pretty much what the Hunger Games was based on, from what I can gather (though it's much bloodier).

Set in the near future, Japan's economy has collapsed and the youth are more rebellious than ever. The governmet decides that the nation may decline further if discipline isn't restored to the nation's youth, so in order to scare them straight they enact the Battle Royale Act (BR Act for short).

Under the new act, one 9th grade class from anywhere in the country is randomly selected by computer each year to take part in "Battle Royale". Under the guise of a field trip, the selected class arrives at a remote island, where the students must kill each other off within three days. If a winner isn't decided by the final day, everyone dies, courtesy of the explosive collars on their necks. Everyone recieves a duffel bag, which contains water, some food, island map, compass, pencil, flashlight, and random weapon (some lucky people get a machine gun or shotgun, while others not so lucky may get binoculars or a pot lid, or a wide array of anything inbetween). Thanks to loudspeaker announcemtnts at regular intervals, students know who has already been killed, and the whole event is broadcast live across the nation.

Who will win? Well, I guess you'd have to watch to find out. Oh, and Takeshi Kitano appears (he's the teacher), and his character's name is Kitano as well.

@RR529

I LOVE BATTLE ROYAL! Such a great flick, make sure to watch the sequel as it's also on Netflix.

Yeah, the sequel is what I'll be watching next week.

Battle Royale is a fantastic film. I actually bought it on a "grey-market" DVD many years ago (before is was ever released stateside). Haven't watched it in the while, so i think i'll have to pop it in this weekend. Never seen the sequel, though i've heard it's not near as good. Curious to hear your take on it after to watch it.

Oh, yeah! I've heard about that film! Judging by how you guys are reacting to it, I think I should definitely consider watching it. Heard the sequel's supposed to suck, though.

Sequel wasn't awful, but not nearly as good as the first.

It's worth a watch just for the senseless violence though

Senseless violence? I LOVE senseless violence! YAAAAAAAY!

@Nintendofan64 congrats on being the 1000th post on the thread.

Your Prize.

I had some extra time, so last night I watched Hercules 2014 (Netflix)!

First off, this definitely isn't your typical Hercules story, so if that's what you're looking for, you'll probably end up disappointed.

Luckily, I knew about the twist heading in, so I was able to look at the film on it's own merits. It's more straight up action than adventure (and it's more of a war film, as most of the action takes place on large battlefields), and if that's what you're looking for, then you're in for a good time because there's a lot of fighting & it's done really well. Some of the set pieces had a truly great sense of scale, and were cool to see.

Watching Leprechaun 6: Back 2 tha Hood.

Gotta say, it's not as cheesy as I was hoping- and I loved the first few.