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Warcraft was a darn fun movie! But you need to know the universe a bit to enjoy it.
DieTeeFee
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: Aug 04, 2014
Member#: 36042
Posts: 291
Location: where the trouble is at.
Posted:
Fri Jul 08, 2016 5:40 am Post subject:
Time for another update here
Well the last 3 movies I remember watching are:
The godfather
...yes that very very old movie. Can you believe I had not seen it before? Well now I have, and I am a lot more educated about movie references now What kind of astonished me was that I knew that the horse head scene was coming, before it actually happened. And while you might say: yeah everyone knows about the horse... I actually didn't. At least not actively. I suppose I had seen some reference somewhere and forgotten all about it again... and then there comes this scene and i was blown away by "wait... I know whats happening! how do i know? this is actually from the godfather? really?"
Soo... i really enjoyed the movie and even though I usually don't like to watch very old movies (shame on me) I think it's kinda important to watch a classic every now and then you might actually understand references, that you never noticed before.
Rating 9/10 (because I was still surprised and intrigued by a movie that has been referenced for 30 years now)
2) Back to the Future
yup... another classic but I had seen that movie before. It was just the first time that i saw it on the big screen. I was a bit surprised that you catch quite a lot of different details when watching it in the cinema as opposed to TV.... And the soundtrack rocks
Rating: 8/10 (cult )
3) The meddler
... the movie why I actually write this post
Last monday's Sneak Preview introduced me to this movie. As I am usually trying to guess the movie we will see (the FSK and the length are declared on the cinemas webpage, so you can deduce quite a lot from that) I was actually rather sure we would be watching this movie.
I was also rather pensive about it, since the summary sounds like one of those standard drama-romance things. (also... the title sounds awfully like one of those catastrophe humour things that usually make me cringe)
But I was positively surprised. The story is actually a rather thoughtful view on different kinds of loneliness (my inner introvert approves) and the general awesomeness of mums I left the cinema rather happy.
JAYNE EYRE (2011)
This version of the movie stars Mia Wazikowska and Michael Fassbender, both of whom are too attractive to play the characters as whom they've been cast. I just read the novel, parts of which I liked, others I really liked, some which drove me nuts. This movie is only 2 hours long, which isn't enough time to do any of those parts justice. I defy anyone who says this is a great love story, though. I'm with Kate Beaton on this one. I should read Anne's book, though.
THE MAZE RUNNER
I've caught parts of this before, and decided to watch the whole thing, finishing it up this morning as I'm feeling under the weather. I liked this, I think. Yes, it's another post-apocalyptic teens vs. adults story, but I like how it just dumps the characters into a mystery. The mystery is resolved (and their journey is only beginning, etc...) but there were some surprises, and I dug the cast. I guess I should check out the sequel now. _________________ I have a book coming out. Wanna see it?
http://www.jessicalevai.com/sternendach-a-vampire-opera-in-verse/
DieTeeFee
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: Aug 04, 2014
Member#: 36042
Posts: 291
Location: where the trouble is at.
Posted:
Fri Jul 22, 2016 2:08 am Post subject: Star Trek beyond
So I saw Star Trek Beyond. As you might have guessed, the fangirling was barely containable. So maybe my impression of the movie was better than the movie actually warranted. I'm not gonna claim to be objective here
First off i have to admit that I was having a rather curious mix of fangirling and no anticipation at all for this movie before I went and saw it. I think the trailer (and i'm not gonna lie - the reputation of the new director) made the whole movie look so incredibly action-y that I was prepared for 2h of booooring explosions with some man-candy thrown in. And what can I say. I was partly wrong
Since the man-candy is basically a given i'm not gonna expatiate on that point. Let me just say that I think Spock looked kinda different than in the previous movies (but not necessarily in a bad way) and everyone else was their usual yummy-kickass self
So... yes there were explosions.... lots of them... and with explosions in space there is always that little nagging in the back of my head about oxygen and fire and vacuum, but this is hollywood so I guess we need some explosions What I was suprised about was, that the action-y part did not feel like the main focus point of the movie.
There was a LOT of very nice character interaction and crew-bonding stuff in there (that I totally think is Simon Peggs doing, which is why he moved up quite a few steps on the List-of-People-that-I-will-Eternally-Love) and the Story of the movie managed to get some proper old Star Trek vibes going for me. The overall tone of the movie managed to become a bit less dark'n'gritty than the previous 2 movies (which is quite an improvement imho) and there were a few actual laughing-out-loud moments.
I have read some critiques about the storyline being a bit thin... which is something I will not completely deny. This movie will not induce an identity crisis in you and I think there were a few story ideas which could have used a bit more elaboration. But I had the feeling that this movie was more about the feels (as in good-feels) than the thinks And I personally did not feel anything missing while watching the movie.
I still need to see it with the original voices, so i will reserve the right to change my mind about this, but i would rate the movie 8/10. Definitly better than Into Darkness - not sure about 2009 though.
____EDIT____
I forgot to mention the glorious soundtrack! Michael Giacchino is also one of the people who moved up my Eternally-Love-List I think he did a great job in taking some of the dark out of the movie, while still staying with his epic Star Trek feel. I heard some very nice new themes, that i will have to explore as soon as I can get my fingers on a CD
The following things are kinda spoilery so I put them seperatly.
Spoiler:
1) I was very happy about the LGBT couple they put in the movie. There has been some negative feedback about this before the release of the movie - namely from George Takei who said that Gene just didn't think that the viewers of Star Trek were ready to see a gay person, and now this person is basically "against canon". I was actually rather confused about this statement. Especially since I read that George himself brought the Idea up back then - so I thought he would be happy about it being implemented now.... especially since you can be reasonably sure that people are "ready" to see a same-sex-kiss now. Anyways. I really liked how completely unspectacular they made the notion. There was no big THERE! GAAAY! reveal. Just a family reuniting in the midst of other people... the fact that they were same sex actually only registered with me some time later
Spoiler:
2) The bike scene was really unnecessary imho. I suppose that was Justin Lins personal homage to his movie history... or maybe he just can't make a movie without cars and motorcycles... but it seemed rather farfetched to me.
REAL spoiler here
Spoiler:
3) I really really liked the solution of the attack on that space station. The basic idea of jamming their communications instead of throwing the biggest bomb we can think of felt so wonderfully Star Trek I also looooved the reference back to the 2009 movie with the song the alien lady chose I think it's a bit of a shame that they made all of the mini-ships explode though. Last time I checked having no communications does maybe result in the ships flying into eachother... but not in spontanous combustion. I know the explosions probably looked more spectacular - and the music-explosion relation was very fun to watch - but for the sci part in scifi I would have preferred a bit less flashy result.
Luther_III
Commander
Joined: Jun 20, 2005
Member#: 10621
Posts: 846
Location: New Orleans
Posted:
Wed Jul 27, 2016 2:36 pm Post subject:
LadyInque wrote:
THE MAZE RUNNER
I've caught parts of this before, and decided to watch the whole thing, finishing it up this morning as I'm feeling under the weather. I liked this, I think. Yes, it's another post-apocalyptic teens vs. adults story, but I like how it just dumps the characters into a mystery. The mystery is resolved (and their journey is only beginning, etc...) but there were some surprises, and I dug the cast. I guess I should check out the sequel now.
I had basically the exact same impression when I watched The Maze Runner. It was much better than I expected, for all the same reasons that LadyI expounded. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of watching the sequel.
_________________ "If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.... I get most joy in life out of music."
--Albert Einstein
Unfortunately, I made the mistake of watching the sequel.
Okay, then, maybe I won't watch it. Thanks for the warning.
I'm on a bit of a vacation, so I'm watching a lot of movies. Here's what I've got.
STAR TREK BEYOND
I found this movie a slog. I'm sorry. My husband says this seems to be a pattern with me. Big-budget things-explode movies bore me when I see them in theaters, and then once I've caught them on cable a few times, I warm up to them. Maybe he's right. If so, I'll see you back in a few months. But I just didn't really find enough to like in this movie, and the bad guy was so boring.
SPY
I liked this movie a lot, actually. I could have done without some of the gross-out humor (there's not too much, though) and the language, and definitely without the... explicit self-portraits halfway through. But I found it progressive, and funny, and I liked Theodore Shapiro's parody of David Arnold Bond score.
HAIL, CAESAR!
I don't know what to make of this movie. It seems like the filmmakers just sat around one night saying, "You know what's cool? Movies from the 1950s. All of em. Let's make a couple!" So they did, or at least parts of them, and put this thin little plot around them. It's not bad, I just don't think it's that awesome.
Okay, full disclosure: in high school, I played Mona Kent in Dames at Sea. It was awesome. I was awesome. And so I was really only watching Hail, Caesar! for this scene, because it brought back memories. And in that, I was more than satisfied.
STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI
A few days ago, I had a hankering to watch this again. Now, this is a movie that is in my DNA. It was possibly the first thing I saw in theaters, I wore down my parents' VHS copy, I love it. And I was numbed a bit by the realization that it's... not that good.
I mean, some scenes are awesome. And I've always loved how it was the most colorful of the classic trilogy. But the plotting is really scattershot, especially the Jabba sequence. And the acting, the acting, the acting. Again, some is really pretty good, and then there's that scene with Luke and Leia. They're not helped by the script. I don't know who could deliver those lines well, but it ain't them.
And in this most recently tinkered-with release, they decided Darth Vader's best scene needed another "No!" Seriously, it's like they don't learn anything.
I'll always love this movie. The newer ones are probably superior, but they can't replace the classic trilogy in my heart. But what can I say? Growing up sucks. _________________ I have a book coming out. Wanna see it?
http://www.jessicalevai.com/sternendach-a-vampire-opera-in-verse/
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS
For only the second time in my life, I went to the movies by myself. This is a stop-motion animated film by Laika studios with a score by Dario Marianelli. (Why do I want to say Desplat? Anyway...)
You know, I walk into movies wanting to love them, and this was no exception. But I just didn't. I dunno. Maybe after watching it again and thinking about it more, I'll like it. But the story didn't work for me. The bulk of it was plot coupons, which is okay, but then the conclusion... I couldn't find the logic. I don't get what the Moon King was after.
I also found the voices disconcerting. When I'm watching something that is either Japanese (Princess Mononoke comes to mind) or done in the Japanese style, like this movie, I find the voices of American actors jarring. It's not that all the voices need to have accents or something to feel authentic, but the SoCal accents just feel very out of place.
DieTeeFee
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: Aug 04, 2014
Member#: 36042
Posts: 291
Location: where the trouble is at.
Posted:
Mon Aug 29, 2016 1:41 am Post subject:
I watched pete's dragon this weekend. (mostly for the KUFGC part of it, but y'know...)
It was... nice-ish. I have no personal connection to the story, because it's one of those that i didn't grow up with, but i suppose this is a rather nice childrens movie. The story was a bit predictable, and aside from Karl Urban being his regular hot self, the movie really has no appeal to a grown up audience. The kids in the row in front of us sure seemed to like the movie. I liked the acting performance of the male lead (not so much of the bratty girl but i suppose the topic of child-actors is always gonna be tricky). The animations were okay i guess, but I found the movements of the Dragon to be kinda weird.... (probably somewhere in the uncanny valley which is why i was so annoyed by it without being able to tell what exactly annoyed me...)
The score was rather nice, but at times i was always missing a bit of a title melody or something.
Since it IS a childrens movie, i'd rate it a 7/10.
P.S.
Oh... and i watched suicide squad with my colleagues on thursday. The movie was even worse than the reviews suggested. 1/10
martino
Commander
Joined: Jan 12, 2009
Member#: 24057
Posts: 595
Posted:
Mon Aug 29, 2016 4:56 pm Post subject:
DieTeeFee wrote:
Oh... and i watched suicide squad with my colleagues on thursday. The movie was even worse than the reviews suggested. 1/10
Ha, ha ... I fully agree with you, Fee. I 'm glad I 'm not the only one who thinks the same.
Caliburn
Guest
Posted:
Tue Aug 30, 2016 6:12 am Post subject:
Fee has no taste!
DieTeeFee
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: Aug 04, 2014
Member#: 36042
Posts: 291
Location: where the trouble is at.
Posted:
Tue Aug 30, 2016 10:28 am Post subject:
I agree, cal.... just look at the people i like to spend my time with
alien_avatar
Captain
Joined: Oct 28, 2006
Member#: 16007
Posts: 1342
Location: Berlin
Posted:
Wed Oct 19, 2016 11:45 am Post subject:
THE REVENANT
I'm having the hardest time taking that movie seriously.
Everything happens to Leonardo DiCaprio's character (except maybe getting run over by a train... ), but he comes up swinging.
Wile E. Coyote wouldn't have survived that cr@p.
Suspension of disbelief is a thing, but there are limits. Especially since the movie is at least partially based on 'true events'.
Yeah, sorry, I'll 'believe' that Captain America can survive that amount of physical harm, but a real 19th century person? Just no.
The acting was quite good, even though I preferred Tom Hardy's exquisite sliminess to DiCaprio's grim, pain-filled performance.
What was really lovely were the gorgeous landscape shots.
6/10 _________________ "Welcome to the paranoia club; cheapest fees in the universe and membership lasts forever."
- Peter F. Hamilton, The Evolutionary Void
GHOSTBUSTERS (2016)
I don't care what they say, I liked this movie a lot more than the original. It helps that I've never liked the original very much. And I know plenty disagree with me, and I get it, so please, you don't have to defend it to me. But I thought this one had some funny scenes, and some amusing characters, and
Spoiler:
Bill Murray being tossed out a window.
BELLE
I finally watched this movie, based on a true story of a mixed-race woman growing up as a free black raised by a privileged white family in the 18th-century England. I've wanted to see it for a while for no more noble reason than the outfits are my favorites and Gugu Mbatha-Raw is gorgeous. On those points, it did not disappoint. The rest of the movie was just okay. The final scene in the courtroom seemed to forget whose story this movie was, which I didn't like so much. _________________ I have a book coming out. Wanna see it?
http://www.jessicalevai.com/sternendach-a-vampire-opera-in-verse/
MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 2
This was not a good movie. No. The plot is so stupid I don't even want to describe it. But I can't hate it. I saw too much that I identified with, as the daughter of European immigrants to the US. Where I once saw my grandparents, I now see my parents. I guess we're all getting old. _________________ I have a book coming out. Wanna see it?
http://www.jessicalevai.com/sternendach-a-vampire-opera-in-verse/
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DieTeeFee 
What kind of astonished me was that I knew that the horse head scene was coming, before it actually happened. And while you might say: yeah everyone knows about the horse... I actually didn't. At least not actively. I suppose I had seen some reference somewhere and forgotten all about it again... and then there comes this scene and i was blown away by "wait... I know whats happening! how do i know? this is actually from the godfather? really?"
LadyInque 
I also looooved the reference back to the 2009 movie with the song the alien lady chose 
martino 
