Movies Talk Archive June 01 2017 to July 01 2017

26 Jun 2017 14:50:48
Got taken to see the new Transformers movie, and my major impression was that it was long. Dragged on for me and was a bit shambolic in terms of storyline. Too much dross, though Anthony Hopkins is brilliant as an eccentric lord. To be honest, he made it worth the admission alone.

Still the Dinobots are criminally underused though.

26 Jun 2017 23:50:55
This Transformers will fail, finally, this time around.

{Ed007's Note - My Mrs has tried to get me into the Transformers movies but my hatred of the old cartoon means I'll never watch them. We watched Captain America 2 on Sunday night and I thought that was a brilliant film - just saying lol.}

28 Jun 2017 12:44:27
Anything Michael bay is involved with is generally crap.

28 Jun 2017 23:27:08
Hi max. I would disagree on that. They weren't exactly great movies, but I think them were mostly good action movies though I think he should stop making Transformers movies and make more of those old school action movies back in the Jerry Bruckheimer era. Oh I love that Jerry Bruckheimer era.

17 Jun 2017 00:29:05
Just a bit of fun, but since 'The Last Jedi' is coming out in a few months' time, how would you rank the Star Wars movies and why? I'd go with:

1. Empire Strikes Back
2. A New Hope
3. Return of the Jedi
4. Rogue One
5. The Force Awakens
6. Revenge of the Sith
7. Phantom Menace
8. Attack of the Clones

Obviously, ESB needs no introduction, and is one of the greatest films ever made. It is one of the only sequels to actually surpass the original, add to the lore and be a great standalone movie at the same time (similarly brilliant sequels that come to mind are Godfather Part II and T2: Judgement Day) . I rank A New Hope above Return of the Jedi mainly because RotJ falls short on a few fronts. The battle on the moon of Endor bordered on farcical and to this day, I still see no use in the armour that the troopers wore if rocks thrown by furry little bears can be an effective weapon. Furthermore, although I, too, rooted for Vader's redemption, was there really enough of a setup? Just because Luke is his son doesn't mean he has to feel affection for him. I know he offered Luke to go to his side so they can overthrow the Emperor and rule the galaxy together, but I don't see that as any kind of evidence. Vader is supposed to be one of the most powerful Sith lords, he's worked with Sidious for years, manipulation should be second nature to him. Also, Han should have died, it would have added a lot more to the emotional impact of the film (a la Kenobi 'dying' in ANH) .

Now, to move on to the newest additions to the franchise. TFA and R1 both had multiple issues plaguing it. TFA was a rehash of ANH and has pacing problems. However, it did introduce a group of characters which I believe are interesting enough to explore. Finn is the strongest out of them all and I can't wait to see what he gets up to in TLJ. Also, who the hell is Snoke? However, not all the characters are too hot in TFA. Rey and Kylo have various issues. I personally don't consider Rey a Mary Sue, but the way she picks up on the nuances of the Force is a bit forced (no pun intended) . Kylo is even more divisive with some claiming he's a deeper and more complex Anakin, and some complaining and saying that he's a bratty, emo Anakin. I straddle the fence on this one. I'm willing to give him more time and see where it goes from here. What I believe is that Kylo has potential to be a great character, not just a villain. For anyone who's seen Nickelodeon's 'Avatar, the Last Airbender', we can all agree that Zuko's transformation made him go from a perhaps generic, albeit complex, villain into the strongest character in the series.

I was unable to split R1 and TFA because they both have good bits, but also suffer from truly horrendous problems. In R1, the pacing of the first two acts is a mess. Characters are boring and we do not care about them. What's more, their motivations were all over the place and at times, their actions made no sense in accordance with their characters. However, I've always believed that a great ending can oftentimes save or elevate a movie, and this was one of those times. In one of the best scenes in cinema history, we get to see Vader at his terrifying best. I also liked that they all died, giving some kind of pathos that the movie had so sorely lacked. Oh, and I loved the gem that R1 gave us with the line, "are you kidding me, I'm blind! "

Finally, we get to the prequels. As a whole, it is a messy, messy project, at best. Anakin goes from a whiny brat who comes out with truly awful lines that are supposed to be romantic in Lucas's view, to a violent mass murderer who enables a fascist dictator in his genocidal plans by slaughtering a group of kids. All because of some ridiculous motivation (included are a dream, and Palpatine saying "do it") . Now, I understand that there are quite a lot of Prequel apologists that have sprung up in reaction to Prequel hate. But I will say, without reservation, that the Prequels deserve the criticism. It is filled with cringeworthy dialogue, one-dimensional characters with confusing motivations and racial undertones, spunks of CGI that crowd the entire screen just because etc. Out of the three, only RotS has any real merit, although that is not saying much when compared with the two preceding movies. Although TPM gave us the god-awful Jar Jar Binks, it also gave us the most badass character since Vader and Han in Darth Maul. And Duel of the Fates is just some more Williams wizardry. The worst of the bunch has to be AotC. Apart from an excellent Christopher Lee as Dooku, McGregor growing into his role as Obi Wan and Samuel L Jackson decapitating assassins like he normally does, it boasts nothing else. I know I've banged on about how awful the dialogue is in the Prequels, but seriously, does Lucas actually think people talk like that? And to compound that, Padme, a respected Senator and former Queen of Naboo, actually falls for Anakin's beyond-creepy stalker act? It just too much of a stretch of imagination, even for a space opera about galactic politics and an ancient cult religion practised by aliens.

Wow, I didn't realise how much I wrote, so sorry about the length. Feel free to contribute and disagree with me, I'm open to reinterpretation of the films.

TLDR: I like Star Wars but there are a lot of problems with them.

17 Jun 2017 01:09:44
That was a really long post.

I'm not into space movies, but I kinda like Force Awakens, only that it was difficult for me to enjoy it entirely since I have no idea on most of the characters in it. Haven't got the chance to watch Rogue One yet, but maybe I will.

17 Jun 2017 09:56:26
Sorry about the length, I didn't realise how much I wrote until the end! Rogue One is a standalone movie, and is one of the better movies set in space in recent years. Would most definitely recommend it, especially as the 'space' element doesn't actually play too large a role. I heard the director wanted a much darker and grittier war movie, but Disney being Disney, he was forced to abandon most of that vision. Nevertheless, it is still worth a watch.

{Ed001's Note - don't worry about the length. Personally I would want to watch them all again in order to rank them properly. Rogue One would be up there in the top 3 I think though.}

17 Jun 2017 12:51:14
That's good if it is a standalone, it would be more enjoyable to those who are like me. It was Gareth Edwards', right? I love the tone in his Godzilla, maybe I will enjoy this one as well.

{Ed001's Note - it was excellent mate.}

05 Jul 2017 17:14:02
Planning in watching rogue one this week so can't comment on that buy would largely agree with your ratings. But would put force awakens above jedi and possibly new hope, and phantom menace above sith.

Ok will start with the latter. Phantom menace is terrible, as all the prequels are, however I believe menace opened up more of the universe than nearly every other star wars film. Great lead characters in Neeson and mcgregor, decent story, good cgi (for the time) and the best fight scenes from any of the films. I even find jar jar more tolerable than 'pre-vader' and his inability to act. I also think sith was propped up by mcgregors amazing performance but was still unable to make it a good film due to the lack of quality performances around him.

As for force awakens I think it is probably the most polished told story of all the films. The reason I can't push it up higher, and possibly not above new Hope, is that it is essentially a rehashing of the original 2 films. Unknown character finds out they have force powers, bad guy has family connection to main good guys, surprise death of male good guy, bad guys have powerful laser that needs to be stopped, and Han is a grey character. However it is brilliantly executed and with the addition of modern cgi the film looks 'real' and not that cut out style that was found in the remastered originals. The use of practicAl effects were brilliant and the ending, although extremely cheese, was perfect for the continuing saga.

Could say more and will later nut have to run now.

10 Jun 2017 19:33:34
Just done watching two X-Men movies; Apocalypse and Logan.

Apocalypse. This is, for me, the worst X-Men film. The crap started in First Class, and it got worse especially in this one.

Logan. Not going to say much, hands down this is the best X-Men film. Jackman and Stewart were truly awesome in it. At times, it felt like Logan was a son who loved his old man so much. There were some scenes between these two that were quite touching. Downside was, it didn't feel much like an action movie; the actions weren't that much or big compared to others, but there were lots of brutal killings. Well, it was a really good goodbye from both Jackman and Stewart.

15 Jun 2017 12:19:16
Agree with apocalypse, lacking in everything

04 Jun 2017 23:24:33
Wonder Woman Review:

Wonder Woman is DCs fourth film in its cinematic universe, it follows the Man of Steel (decent but hated by nerds), Batman vs Superman (one of the biggest 'swing and a miss' movies ever) and Suicide Squad (a cynical attempt to copy GOTG which failed on every level). Could DC have survived four turkey's in a row? Thankfully we'll never have to know because WW is very good.

WW is very similar to Captain America's first film, in fact it's practically a re-make (they changed the comic's setting of WW2 to WW1 because, otherwise, it was just too on the nose) but WW gets right where that film went wrong. Both films have a first act that sets up the character but whilst CA went off the rails after it's great start with sci-fi Nazis and super weapons WW goes from strength to strength. WW's western front looks and feels like the real western front and that actually allowed me to believe we were watching a story from real history. WW also has the one edge that DC has over Marvel, it feels epic where the marvel films rarely match their ambition.

My biggest worry beforehand was whether Gal Gadot could carry the film. She embodies the character visually and we saw in the trailers she can hold her own in the fight scenes but could she actually act? Her Diana Prince is funny, confident, innocent and earnest and is basically spot on. What she's not is fully formed, she doesn't understand the greater world and truth of people knocks her sideways. it's an excellent portrayal of a superhero that has all the power but lacks experience.

The action is reminiscent of 300 but where that film was all about style Wonder Woman and the Amazons are all about getting the job done, they're brutal and efficient and whilst there was outcry over Superman and Batman killing people no one will complain about Wonder Woman cutting down Germans by the dozen.

The film's not perfect, the mythology around WW's origins is fuzzy and the main villain's motivations make little sense but ultimately Gal Gadot is great, the action is great and the setting is great. Now, let's wait and see if DC can ruin all this goodwill with the Justice League.

16 Jun 2017 23:39:41
I went to see it with a friend. It had been praised by so many people that I was afraid I'd be let down when I actually saw it. However, I have to say, it is one of the best superhero movies in recent times. I don't really read comic books so I have no idea how faithfully it follows the source material, but as a standalone film, it's most definitely fantastic. Gal Gadot is brilliant, and her chemistry with the actor who plays Steve Trevor is great as well. Of course, it is not without its flaws but in today's saturated market of superhero franchises, it stands out. 9/10 for me.

02 Jun 2017 15:51:38
Free-Fire

At least I think that was what it was called, the whole thing was such a confused mess I am not even sure what it was called. In basic terms it was the story of a gun deal in the 70s (I think) which went wrong.

It just ends up in a mess of people shooting at each other with no idea who is who or what and why they are shooting at whoever they were shooting at. It had the potential to be funny but shot so far wide of the mark it was not funny. It wasn't really action packed. It was just bizarre.

02 Jun 2017 06:46:22
Primeval

This is not actually a recent film. Have watched it years ago, but decided yo write a bit about it since I just watched it on TV last night.

After few years, I felt the film didn't really age that much to me, and I like it just as much.

It's about a group of journalists went to somewhere in Africa to make a story about an attempt to catch a monster man-eating croc. This croc, Gustave, is actually real, and I read it is still alive in the Nile river. The group eventually got involve with the conflict ongoing in the country, and the film much involved them with the warlord and the croc itself.

I like the humours (not that many in it), kinda like the plots, and the action scenes were quite ok and overall it was quite a decent thriller. The effects were cheap though.

For me, this film was quite different from other creature films like Deep Blue Sea, Lake Placid, mainly because of the plots. It wasn't really centred on the croc, but mainly on the conflicts in the country, and used the plot of that croc to add some flavour to the scenes in the film.

A thumb up from me.