caught it in theaters a few weeks ago and enjoyed it more than the first one. visually/sonically it was fantastic. the acting wasn't annoying for the most part, which is usually one of my main gripes. i think the story was good but the telling could have been much more subtle as i found it predictable throughout. but yeah, all those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain. or something. 

I was actually going to post asking why havent you seen it :) 

The trailer looked like it was going to be good to anyone except the most jaded fanboi....

I agree the story was unsubtle - but perfectly fine for a film - maybe that's why I found some of the lengthy moments a bit jarring (like finding the horse).

Good call about the sound design too. Some good music - the noises when he meets the hos for the first time were great.

Nitin, a bit slow with the cinema these days :) 

but certainly jaded and cynical when it comes to new mainstream films (especially established franchises that are ripe for raping). I'm accustomed to disappointment so 2049 was a welcome surprise :D

I think something that helped 2049 was keeping scott out of the director's chair (villeneuve was a great pick too, glad it wasn't nolan).

also, let's take a moment to appreciate that 2049 isn't an alien/prometheus tie-in. 

I'm sure you guys have heard by now, but cameron is on board the new terminator (as well as schwarzenegger and hamilton). an interview, for those interested. 

I dunno. I am kinda over The Terminator story. And recall that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull had the originals back together. Maybe it will be groundbreaking in some way but..? 

Alien was the only Alien movie, Blade Runner was the only Blade Runner movie, and the first two Terminators were the only Terminator movies or even if it was only T2. 2049 was alright, worth watching and of course the visuals were spectacular, but I really wish they would focus more on original scifi visions; it's not like there isn't material for it (there will never be an At the Mountains of Madness movie, alas).

Nolan made Following for like $6,000 if I recall correctly. Noir can be such a win when well done, and blends well with scifi (ie Blade Runner, Dark City, etc). 

Yeah, I don't have high hopes, but the fact that Cameron is part of it and that it's a sequel to T2 (and ignores the other movies) is enough for me to care to some degree. I like the Terminator universe and aesthetic so I would welcome a good modern rendition of it. Fingers crossed.

@Tronyn - Alien was the only Alien movie

No love for Aliens? 

heh, I like Aliens, it's the best one other than the first one, but I still don't think the first one benefits from associating with it. 

The Coming Race

https://youtu.be/dxiCnhH6TcM

Gonna be out in a few months. Anyone hyped? :D 

was like a dream and I loved it! I don't know, but even though movie felt slow and the story wasn't anything too original, just that there is so much time to see and feel how semi-depressive the future would be like. I loved the soundtrack, and I would watch it again just for that.
Slow it felt, but it is really the selling point here, I think. I don't often watch movies, which tie on the ambience with so steady grip and this made me zombie for long amount of time after the ending. 

Was a very pretty film but the soundtrack was garbage. I didn't care for the story that much either.

The original film is a masterpiece in film-making. 

 

 

 

Curiosity strikes again. Although in the first one I lost attention at the second half, I still wanna see what they got in their sleeves. 

Seen these over the last two months:

Detroit - The reviews for Kathryn Bigelow's latest one are interesting. Some say the characterisation is not very nuanced, other say that it did not go far enough in condemning the actions it depicts. Personally, I found it a very well made film that, although being very difficult to watch in parts, is quite balanced in its (semi-fictionalised) depiction of the 1967 Detroit Riots and a particular incident at the Algiers Hotel. Sure it doesnt provide elaborate character backstories, or offer any solution to the depicted complex problems, but to say that the movie lacks nuance or doesnt go far enough in condemning the actions it depicts seems to me to be reading into it what people might want to read into it. Also, it's technically first rate, and the performances are fantastic.

8/10


Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Has its fair share of problems, namely some very spotty plotting and a romantic subplot for Finn that leads to a scene (the kiss) as cheesy as anything in the prequel trilogy. But against those problems, it has some very interesting alterations to the themes that normally run through SW movies. Those same alterations seem to have annoyed a lot of dedicated fans but personally I found those alterations interesting and refreshing from what was becoming a very stale franchise. Some of the visuals were also very well done (both particular shots but also the editing in the Rey/Kylo connection scenes).

At least in for the last one in this trilogy and the first in Rian Johnson's upcoming new trilogy.

7.5/10


The Killing of a Sacred Deer - Very weird movie tonally, and whilst that was definitely entertaining to watch (especially if you like black humour), I am not sure it was very effective. As a comparison point, thematically this was not that different to say Haneke's Cache, but that was far more chillingly effective if less entertaining. Performances are all top notch and in sync with the tone, as are the technical accomplishments, but to me this felt like a missed opportunity traded in for an exercise in zaniness.

Also has the best pasta eating scene I have ever seen.

7/10


Good Time - Very stylishly and propulsively made, and with a killer soundtrack, but ultimately less than the sum of its parts overall. There are some great character bits, some hilarious scripting, but nevertheless, despite being entertaining for most of its runtime, this ultimately felt like a whole lot of nothing by the end.

7/10


The Disaster Artist - I havent seen The Room but I also havent seen Plan 9 From Outer Space but still consider Ed Wood to be one of the all time great films. Unfortunately James Franco's movie is nowhere near the quality of Burton's masterpiece. It seems completely uninterested in what made Tommy Wiseau or Greg Sestero tick or what drove them (at least beyond a very superficial level) to make The Room in the way that they did (like Wood, Wiseau obviously didnt realise he was making a terrible movie but unlike in Burton' film you get no sense here of why Wiseau thought he wasnt).

It seems far more interested, and definitely in a rush, to recreate the shooting of some of the scenes in The Room so that you can laugh at them. But then why wouldnt you just watch The Room?

On the plus side, going by the end credits and some youtube clips, Franco's impersonation of Wiseau seems to be extremely spot on.

5.5/10


Ingrid Goes West - Surprisingly hilarious and critical take on not only instragram culture and social media obsessiveness, but also hipster culture and the LA lifestyle, with Aubrey Plaza and Elizabeth Olsen doing terrific work as stalker and stalkee. There is enough depth to the characters to keep you interested and although it is cynical enough, the movie thankfully doesn't end up becoming clichedly nihilistic.

Also O'Shea Jackson Jnr's Batman obsessed character steals every scene he is in.

7-7.5/10 

Visually, it's lovely. Every scene looks great and the effects are top notch. This movie is a real feast for the eyes (and ears). Aside from that, I hate it deeply and lament its existence. 

I think The Last Jedi was just Rian Johnson watching too much Game of Thrones and he decided to be a maximum edgelord and just kill off all the characters you didn't want killed off.

JJ Abrams has a massive clean-up job on his hands with ep9, that's for sure. 

I think Rian Johnson decided to be a maximum edgelord and just kill off a franchise you didn't want killed off. This wasn't just a beheading either. He disemboweled star wars, showered it with excrement then savagely ass raped it into oblivion. I can't wait to behold its spit-shined carcass in ep9.

Fuck, I haven't even cared about star wars for some time and I'm still angry :/ 

You summed up the movie perfectly in #6036! +1 

 

was a disgrace. For me it's worse than the prequel films by some margin. 

Everyone I've spoken too cites wildly different reasons as to why they hate The Last Jedi. What are you fellas' grievances? 

Well, the screenplay is horrid. And that's the problem.

There are scenes like the mutiny toward the end of the movie that serve no purpose in advancing the story. The casino stuff - all pointless and worse - excessive. Honestly it felt like those scenes were tacked on to the movie to sell toys. (the real reason all Star Wars films exist.) Our main characters fail in what they were attempting to do. But they succeed in finding a hacker (by chance.) huh? pretty convenient.

Somehow every character, including Luke is unlikable now as opposed in the last picture. Except Rey. She's passable. I hated Poe by the end of the movie. Finn was sidelined to a quest that, as I said, was meaningless to the story. Yoda came back as a puppet. Was that a good idea? I was distracted by it I apparently missed some good dialogue. where's Obi Wan? Too busy for a chat?

Leia dies and then revives herself? WTF? Why didn't the Emperor that in Episode 6? Then Luke dies without any foreshadowing? WTF? There are countless moments I was baffled that someone would release such an incoherent story based in a universe that has some logic to it.

Visually there are some great scenes. Really cool moments. Great action. But really a big spaceship can't catch up to a smaller spaceship? That's your ticking clock? How utterly lame and uncinematic.

I had no issue with the humor except the first few minutes. Domhnall Gleeson is a good actor but he was wayyyy over the top in that opening scene. I was cringing for him and puzzled as to what the hell was up. I actually liked that Luke was a bit cranky but he never really snapped out of it. For me as a kid Luke Skywalker was my Star Wars hero. This sendoff was extremely disappointing.

Big things and little:

Rose's sister is exposed to space in the beginning of the movie but she doesn't freeze. Later Leia is exposed but her face forms ice crystals. Huh? Stupid detail shit like that matters. I've clearly thought about it more than the filmmakers who just want your money.

Rose was a cute little character and then she had to have that horrible "death kiss" scene. Ugghhh.

This is a long video but the guy is smart and brings up a lot of great analysis of the film from a writer's perspective. He's not as hard on the movie as I am being, so it's another perspective you might be interested in hearing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC8vSlSsbwI&ab_channel=MatthewColville