Movies Talk Archive March 01 2017 to March 31 2017
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29 Mar 2017 08:05:45
I was just reading an interview with Carl Weathers, and, as well as the usual Rocky talk, they mentioned Action Jackson. It got me thinking, I thought, at the time, that it was a great movie, not sure how it would have stood up to the test of time though. However it never got the acclaim of many much worse movies that were around at the time. Are there any more movies like that, which never made a huge splash at the box office but you thought deserved to?
29 Mar 2017 21:20:33
King pin. Classic movie. Bill murray at his best.
30 Mar 2017 13:39:21
Not sure if u meant movies in a certain period of time, Ed01. For me, it's The Shawshank Redemption. I thought that it deserved to get at least some Oscars, deserving it more than Forrest Gump. And definitely, should at least get at least half of what Forrest Gump managed to get.
{Ed001's Note - any time mate, I was just thinking generally. There are so many gems out there that no one talks about, I just wondered if anyone could think of any.}
30 Mar 2017 20:47:38
Did u like the original predator film ed with carl weathers? Such a good film. don't make them like they use to. Haha
{Ed001's Note - loved it mate, shame they have ruined the Predator series since.}
31 Mar 2017 07:35:05
Another I can think of is Children of Men. Not relatively unknown to most now, but worth a shout.
Another one is Trollhunter. The film was not in English, I watched it with subtitles on. Not exactly a boxoffice flop, but it wasnt well received internationally probably because of the language. I can say that this is a really surprisingly good monster film.
Loved Predator 1 as well. Simple, and straight forward. It got that mystery, horror feel when watching it. Hope they will do it right this time.
{Ed001's Note - I really enjoyed Children of Men, good film that. I have not seen Trollhunter, never knew it was a foreign film, just didn't look like my kind of thing when I read the blurb.}
31 Mar 2017 07:56:29
If u have the spare time, maybe you can try and check it out Ed1. It was Norwegian from what I read. The film was more towards comedy, from what I read it was mockumentary. I was surprised that it has an incredible effects considering it wasn't Hollywood's. But I agreed that not all can enjoy this kind of film though.
{Ed001's Note - I will watch it if I ever see it on TV or anything.}
31 Mar 2017 23:53:10
It sounds that it is really not your kind of thing. If so, I recommend Nacho Libre.
{Ed001's Note - that horrible wrestling movie that is utter tosh? God no. Bad enough it is about wrestling but starring Jack Black too, there is not much more they could do to make me hate a film than that combination!}
01 Apr 2017 08:52:14
Going back to the main topic, how about Body of Lies and The Kingdom? Both flopped, but I personally feels that both were really good films. Only that both dealt with sensitive issue as the main plot, with some twists which were not really well-accepted by some.
{Ed001's Note - I don't know either film, what are they about?}
01 Apr 2017 09:42:17
Both centered on the Middle East crisis. The first with DiCaprio, and Jamie Foxx in the latter.
{Ed001's Note - ok will have a look for them.}
02 Apr 2017 05:25:12
Leo should have had so many Oscars. It's a genuine travesty that he didn't get one for Blood Diamond, The Departed, Wolf of Wall St. and even Django Unchained.
Even in The Island(which is vomit) he was good enough to at least get nominated.
The guy is more versatile than most other actors, meaning he can play pretty much any role to a decent standard. He's incredibly marketable on the face of it as he's articulate, you never hear anything bad about him in the press and in interviews, he always comes across as a reasonable guy who will devote time to his fans. I'm sure's not all sunshine and roses but still, he's an angel compared to 90% of the spuds in Hollywood.
Also HaizanMSS, I saw the most realistic and impressive street gunfight scene in The Kingdom. Where the agent has been captured and they're following them through the streets after the car chase. Such an epic scene!
{Ed001's Note - I really rate DiCaprio, even when the film he is in is rubbish, he tends to be excellent. Though I still couldn't stick Django or Island. I have to admit I am not a big fan of Wolf of Wall Street either, but he was brilliant in it.}
02 Apr 2017 05:46:23
I can't believe I didn't see the post about Trollhunter. What a great bloody movie! Some kids from Norway make a movie and it's better than half the stuff that comes out in Hollywood. Plus the CGI was insanely good for the budget($3.5 million according to wiki)
It was all in Norwegian, but it's so easy to follow what's going on, even without subtitles. The script is basic, the acting is basic, but it's bloody brilliant!
Trollhunter trailer
02 Apr 2017 08:21:09
Not much to add about DiCaprio. My favorites of his films are Blood Diamond, Body of Lies, and The Revenant. Agreed with both you and Ed01, I couldn't stand The Island.
In The Kingdom, I love how it built the relationship between the agents and the local police guys. And Jamie Foxx, the guy is always brilliant.
How about Nacho Libre hsf? I really can't understand why certain people can hate such a great film like this.
02 Apr 2017 15:21:21
You mean that wrestling movie with Jack Black? I thought it was terrible and cringe worthy. Not my kind of film, comedies are always difficult for me to enjoy, as I really struggle to enjoy humour that makes you cringe. Like when you see a guy get totally embarressed in a movie, I find it cringe rather than funny.
02 Apr 2017 16:37:10
Haha. Then I'm clearly alone in this so it seems.
05 Apr 2017 02:07:12
Just a quick word on Shane Black's The Predator; I read a synopsis of the movie and I must say, they will struggle to get any acclaim, or money out of it if they haven't changed some major things.
Alien: Covenant on the other hand, as I mentioned before, is going to be pretty amazing.
{Ed001's Note - it has to be better than Prometheus I guess, that was dog turd.}
05 Apr 2017 05:59:50
I liked Prometheus. Sure it had its flaws, but the majority of its criticism comes from the fact that it didn't made sense. Alien: Covenant, and its sequels that follow will explain things that didn't make sense in Prometheus, or at-least that is what Ridley Scott has said.
The biggest problem I had with Prometheus was the stupid characters and some rather poor technology; the geologist who mapped this alien structure getting lost in the very same structure, the biologist who tries to pet the first living organism that resembles a snake from back home he finds on an alien planet, and Noomi Rapace running around jolly after having had a cesarean.
I liked the concept, and what they tried to do with the film; the engineer in Prometheus is a variant (I use this word to avoid spoilers) of the original space jockey (the giant dead dude in the chair in the original Alien movie), what they were doing on that planet, the excellent visuals and soundtrack.
I have read a leaked synopsis of Alien: Covenant, and have been closely following the marketing, and I have to say, this is going to be pretty good. But, it probably makes sense to watch Alien, then Prometheus before going in to see Alien: Covenant if you cannot remember most things from those movies.
{Ed001's Note - the majority of criticism was because it was overly long, poorly scripted and ridiculous. It was just fashionable to like it because of the subject matter, so it didn't get the criticism it truly deserved over being dead boring.}
05 Apr 2017 06:00:57
And about The Predator, no Ed001, this worse than Prometheus. I would give a quick synopsis of the leaked plot, but you know, spoilers.
{Ed001's Note - Predator should have stopped with the first one. The rest have been awful.}
06 Apr 2017 01:50:25
I have high hopes on the new Predator. Maybe because it is Shane Black's, which films I enjoyed most of them, and the fact he was in the original Predator.
07 Apr 2017 22:49:59
Apologies if these are considered big films but a lot of people I know haven't seen them which are really good; seven psychopaths, kingpin, ip man, the drop, and the grand Budapest hotel.
10 Apr 2017 13:29:06
The Drop is definitely worth a shout.
27 Mar 2017 09:00:27
The Judge.
Robert downey JNR is a hotshot defence attorney, his mother passes and he has to go back to his home town. His dad is a judge of this town has been for 40+ years gets accused of murder of a man he sentenced incorrectly.
The film is a bit long 2 hours or so but after a slow start it builds into a really good film, lots of emotion, different stories play out in the back ground, good characters who you have reasons to love and hate. 100% worth a watch!
23 Mar 2017 15:11:48
No Escape.
watched this last night on Netflix, went in not knowing what it was about having never heard of it and I have to say it was probably the best thriller I've watched since Taken, highly recommended!
{Ed001's Note - is that the one with Owen Wilson and family stranded in some city that undergoes a revolution? Pierce Brosnan helping them? If so I enjoyed that too.}
23 Mar 2017 16:43:39
that's the one ed, kept me on the edge of my sofa for the whole movie, never seen brosnan play a role like that before, not sure what I thought of his performance, I suppose it didn't really spoil the film good or bad!!
{Ed001's Note - I don't really know what else Brosnan has been in to be honest. Never seen his Bond films as I am not a big fan and didn't watch any between Moore and the recent reboots with Daniel Craig. For me he was ok in this, not outstanding or anything but certainly didn't make it worse.}
21 Mar 2017 03:59:37
Passengers
I felt like a passenger on a long flight watching this, as it seemed to drag on interminably. Chris Pratt wakes on a flight to populate a new world to find his hibernation pod has malfunctioned and woken him 90 years too early and no one else is awake now. Eventually he succumbs to temptation to wake a female passenger he has become fixated on as the flight shows more and more signs of problems. That is about as exciting as it gets.
The film never built up his feelings of loneliness to give you any empathy for his predicament. It just never got its hooks into your heart, to give you any reason to care about him being alone. It felt like I was more bored than he was, watching this film. I never got any connection to it at all, in fact, just as the big finale started, I found myself distracted and went to make a cup of tea, completely forgetting the film was on. There was absolutely no engagement with my heart or head.
It was just not my kind of film at all, it felt like it concentrated so much on a vision of the future that it forgot to work on telling the story. I expected to feel his hopelessness as he slipped more and more into insanity, with utter loneliness while thousands slept peacefully around him. Instead it did not focus enough on that aspect, it flitted through it far too quickly.
20 Mar 2017 07:09:06
Going to see Get Out tonight, going in with high hopes as I've never seen reviews for a horror film so good for such a long time from critics who usually pan horror movies, I'll let you all know what i thought tomorrow.
20 Mar 2017 21:46:52
Well that was certainly different!!I wouldn't class it as a horror film at all,I'm not really sure what to class it as!it has a bit of everything but mainly a lot of weirdness and comedy which fitted in with the film perfectly.it's difficult to say much about the film without giving it away.Basically a black guy and his white girlfriend go to visit her parents for the weekend who basically use black people for all sorts of weird reasons and that's about all I can say without spoilers,id definitely recommend this even if it's just for the comedy and for how weirdly different it is!sorry if I've waffled on I think my brain is still a bit fried!
24 Mar 2017 17:49:22
It was an excellent movie and I understand the director of the film wanted to make a statement with the theme, particularly in the current political climate.
18 Mar 2017 22:04:47
Beauty and the beast, took the missus to build up some brownie points and I'm a big kid and enjoy Disney films so wasn't that big a sacrifice.
Firstly Disney are on to a winner remaking all there films (personally I wish they didn't as I'm an old cynic) but it's going to make them serious cash. The film is well made and the casting is spot on emma Watson and josh had in particular. This will be watched by families for generations and will go down as a classic. I would recommend it for those who have families, or those wanting to build up some easy brownie points.
24 Mar 2017 17:50:19
Good movie and since I hadn't seen the original one, this was certainly an interesting, fun and enjoyable movie.
16 Mar 2017 15:53:58
I just saw Sleepless and I would love to write a proper review, but I don't know what I can say without giving something away. I only saw this because the TV here had been running a trailer for it all day yesterday and it looked good, so I went to see it on a whim really. All I can say is that I am glad I did.
It is basically a variation on Taken, with Jamie Foxx replacing Liam Neeson and the setting being a Las Vegas casino. While not as good as the original Taken in my opinion, it was an excellent action movie and I did really enjoy it.
Oh and it is clearly intended to have a sequel, so I just hope they do a better job than the Taken sequels.
16 Mar 2017 10:39:52
In honour of Ed1's views on my favourite superhero films I thought I'd do my top 10 best Superhero films of all time - would be interested to get everyone else's thoughts.
1. The Dark Knight - Not just an excellent superhero film this is an excellent film full stop. In 2009 Slumdog Millionaire won the Oscar for best film, TDK wasn't even nominated. I love that film but it will be a footnote in cinematic history whilst TDK will go down as one of the greats and should have taken the statue home, at least Heath Ledger was awarded for his stunning portrayal of the Joker.
2. Spiderman 2 - There have been dozens of superhero films in the last 15 years but not one has done as good a job of bringing a comic to the screen as Spidey 2 did. The character design is perfect, the story could be told in a four-issue run and 13 years later the train top fight is still the best superhero fight scene ever committed to celluloid.
3. X2 - The first X-men film launched the dawn of modern superhero blockbusters but it was a proof of concept, for the sequel Fox fully committed. The budget was much bigger and that gave Bryan Singer the ability to bring his vision to the screen. Nightcrawler's attack on the president is stunning and Ian Mckellan's Magneto is a brilliant villain. X2 showed that superhero films could be smart as well as exciting.
4. The Winter Soldier - This is Marvel's The Dark Knight, it's an excellent spy thriller that happens to based on a superhero. Chris Evans is probably the best casting decision Marvel ever made, and his supporting cast are excellent.
5. The Avengers - This shouldn't have worked, it should have been overblown and clunky but Joss Whedon kept the tone perfect and balanced his amazing cast giving them each time to shine. 'Puny God' is one of the greatest lines in Hollywood history.
6. Kick Ass - This is how you do an R-rated superhero film. Kick-Ass both satirises and celebrates comics by exploring the real consequences of vigilantes dressing in spandex. What really makes this film fly though is Hit Girl, her crazy relationship with her father and the shock/delight of seeing this sweet little girl carve through villains makes her one of the best characters in superhero films.
7. Guardians of the Galaxy - The film that proved that no one understands superhero films like Marvel, they poured money into a production of an obscure comic with an unproven cast and a 'quirky' director and their instincts were spot on. This is simply the most fun superhero film ever made.
8. Deadpool - Another risk that paid off brilliantly. Every decision the production made worked, the action, the humour, the casting, the marketing, the style, it just got everything right. it's proof that if you give passionate and talented people opportunities then great things are the reward.
9. Civil War - So much about this film is spot on but it's its imperfection that gets it on my list. The hero on hero airport battle distracts from the rest of the film, it's at least three characters too heavy and exists to sell the film rather than serve it but, taken on it's own, the scene is the culmination of our superhero fantasies. It is an epic throw down and brilliantly choreographed, shot and edited.
10 Blade 2 - This is my wild card, not only is it a great sequel that builds on its predecessor rather than repeats it but it's also stylistically brilliant. Benicio Del Toro was the perfect director for this franchise and Donnie Yen's work as action coordinator is right on the money. Don't forget, this film was ground breaking with it's use of digital stuntmen over a year before the Matrix: Reloaded did it (admittedly the effects have dated badly but they were state of the art in 2002).
Honourable mention - Batman - Tim Burton's Batman has been thoroughly superseded by Christopher Nolan but in 1989 it was a revelation. It showed that superhero movies could be true to the comics whilst still being great films, it was the progenitor of every superhero film since and deserves its place in the pantheon (Superman, on the other hand, is a product of it's time that, in hindsight, is just very dull).
{Ed001's Note - apart from Spidey 2 and X2, the one I have most difficulty with is Blade 2! I love Blade, the character and Donnie Yen as an actor, I liked the Blade films, but that one was the worst by a country mile, of the trilogy. Batman on the end is another one I have issue with, it is awful. One of the worst films ever made and that series of films killed my love of comic books for a while.
I really do not understand those three sequels you have picked at all, there is nothing about them that worked for me. Spidey was an awful take on the character and had none of his character from the original comic books. The appearance in Civil War was actually the closest to his comic book persona and the first time I have had hope they have got it right.
Still, if we all liked the same things, for the same reason, life would be so boring. I was thinking about asking Ed033 to set up a series of polls, one each week, to vote on which one out of a series of films is best. Anyone interested in doing that?}
16 Mar 2017 11:35:20
It's funny ed, I thought blade 1 was ok and 3 was utter bobbins but 2 got it just right. As for Spidey, I'm reserving judgement on the new guy till the film comes out, I trust Marvel but making him interesting again is a big ask.
As for the poll idea I think it's great.
{Ed001's Note - I didn't think any of the Blades got it right, but the first was the best and 2 was woeful. Looking back on 3 now, it was a good warm up for Deadpool for Ryan Reynolds.....
I will have a word with Ed033 about doing the polls then.}
16 Mar 2017 11:39:34
Ps I may have over egged how good the original batman was, nowadays it looks almost as camp as the TVs series, but at the time it was groundbreaking and it's important in the history of superhero films hence the 'honourable mention'.
{Ed001's Note - I remember it being bigged up by critics etc but watching it just made me cringe with how terrible it was at the time. I could not even countenance how bad it would seem now.}
16 Mar 2017 13:30:47
I want to share my top 5. Sorry, because I'm not a fan of comic book films and I can only think of this 5. These films really blown me.
1. Batman Begins - I love Batmam as a character, but hated all the films. But this, the realism of the story, was so good that it made me forget all those craps came out before it, especially the Batman with Val Kilmer and Batman with the Penguin (sorry I really can't remember the titles)
2. Man of Steel - this is a comic book character that I don't like at all for so many reasons. I tried watching the old films but failed to enjoy them. I remembered watching Superman Returns, and that film was super boring. But this one, yes, it was loud (maybe too loud) but the origin story was really entertaining to watch. Costner, eventhough didn't feature much in it, was really good as the Superman's father.
3. Watchmen - I don't want to sound like I'm a movie expert, but there were something about its cameraworks, editing, and plots that, for me, were really engaging. I enjoyed the film so much I watched it quite a number of times. Rorscharch is my favourite character in that film.
4. Guardians of the Galaxy - when I watched the trailer, and saw Chris Pratt in it, I asked myself "Chris Pratt? Really?". Well, like you said Putney, it was really fun to watch, and the humours were hilarious.
5. Ang Lee's Hulk - one thing I was dissapointed about this film is the last battle scene with his father. The rest of it was brilliant. It was long, the action wasn't that much. If only Ang Lee managed to cut it short a bit, add more Hulk action in it, it will easily get on top of my list here.
16 Mar 2017 18:41:37
I won't go into a top ten as such as I will just keep arguing with myself over what deserves to be number 1.
The dark knight is a superb movie and is up there with my favourites across all genres.
The whole captain America trilogy stands out for me, I think there a cut aboveboard the other marvel films.
Deadpool, had the potential to be awesome and they surpassed it imo.
GOTG funniest marvel film and one I didn't expect to like, watched it and was instantly hooked.
Ironman deserves a mention (1&2) in particular as without those I don't think we would have the MCU as it is today.
Spidey should be in here but I think the new one will blow it out of the water, was sceptical when he was added to civil war but seems very well casted.
Also a fan of the 1989 batman, I know when you watch it now it's a bit dated but for me it started my love for DC/Marvel.
As for The polls ed001 could be a great addition to the site.
{Ed001's Note - fingers crossed as Ed033 is setting up.}
17 Mar 2017 23:58:18
1 - avengers: has to be as it had such a big build up over the span of years and just delivered! Still remember the first time I saw it in the cinema and absolutely loved it! Was just a great comic book adaptation!
2 - the dark knight - think the greatness of this one glosses over the over all quality of the 1 & 3, both good but think get more credit than deserved.
3 - Spider-Man 2, was a great adaption of Spider-Man and still the best Spider-Man film made.
4 - X2; first x men was good but lacked somewhat and this made up for it, touched on a lot more of the story from the comics and had some great scenes
5 - guardians of the galaxy, just a fun funny and joy to watch, again marvel did great at adapting a fairly odd comic book series on the big screen
6 - the watchmen; probably the best adaptation of a graphic novel I've seen. But different from other hero films and had a great storyline
7 - dead pool, think this has been covered already - perfect person for this passion project
8 - captain America winter soldier- think this is the best stand alone marvel film from this franchise, wasn't as epic as civil war but much better story and had the more espionage parts to it.
9 - civil war - probably an improvement on what the comics offered and is a really good film, preferred winter soldier but this wasn't as good
10 - Logan, doesn't stay true to the comics but is a much better wolverine film then has ever been done, very different tone to it and not entirely action driven. But got to at least see a few scenes of what wolverine should have been like - only down side is took till their last attempt to finally get what made wolverine a good character
15 Mar 2017 01:19:43
If anyone remembers Twin Town when it was out have a look at Young Offenders on Netflix. I've not watched it right through - I'm watching it right now lol - but it's been not bad so far and has that 'gritty' Irish comedy feel like The Commitments.
It's nothing to get excited about but it's been decent if you like those kind of films.
{Ed001's Note - was the Commitments meant to be funny? I never realised it was a comedy. Aren't comedies meant to be funny?}
13 Mar 2017 03:47:49
Underworld: Blood Wars (2017)
I really am struggling to even be bothered to review this film. It took the same tired formula and regurgitated it, but with huge, gaping plot holes and an even more ridiculous story. The Underworld films have been steadily getting worse, less and less enjoyable, and becoming Kate Beckinsale in that tight catsuit and nothing else.
Once again Selene is in the middle of the war between vampire and lycan, once again one side has a secret weapon that tips the balance their way and once again Selene saves the day. The problem is that this film felt like they had just thought 'that will do' all the way through. No real plot? That's ok, we will make do. Storyline? Let's just go back to the start and reuse that one with a slight tweak, because that will do. And so on. Nothing felt like it had mattered to the crew of the film.
I would suggest avoiding it, unless really bored and you have seen everything else you might possibly enjoy. Even then I would suggest trying something you have never heard of, as you might discover a hidden gem that way. This film was just terrible from start to finish.
11 Mar 2017 11:23:36
Doctor Strange. I have mixed feeling after watching this. The story was OK. Most of the fight scenes were just ordinary. Some scenes were kinda bad, I.e. when Dr Palmer saw Strange's ghost (or whatever it was called) she freaked out like few seconds then seems OK after that, like it was nothing much. The humours, especially the WiFi password, were quite funny. The effects, most of them are great, but the accident sequence was too cartoonish for me, and the last scene with the main villain reminded me of a scene in Spawn; cheap! Overall, I enjoyed most of it, but a bit dissappointed as I was expecting something a bit more, considering the great reviews the film had.
09 Mar 2017 04:29:38
American Hero. About a man with superpowers, but has problems with alcohol and drugs, and of course with his marriage too (cliche? Yes). This is a low budget movie, so don't expect great visual effects, big action, or even nice backdrops or locations. However, as cliche as it was, this film truly has something, I would say heart and great acting from the leads especially Dorff and Eddie Griffin. It is not like any other superhero films around. My wife didn't enjoy it. Rottentomatoes rate it as Rotten. But for me, this is a good film.
{Ed001's Note - how did Dorff end up only being a Z-lister?}
09 Mar 2017 04:42:45
You rate him Ed01? I didn't, watched a number of his films, none really worth remembering. But I can say that in this film, he was really good in it.
{Ed001's Note - I can't really remember him being in anything, but I remember when he was in Blade he was one of those who was always talked about in movie magazines. I used to work in a printworks back then and so got to read hundreds of magazines for free.}
09 Mar 2017 08:05:14
Really? He was the main villain in it yes, but that was all. The movie itself wasn't that good. So what were those magazines talked about? He was super great in it?
{Ed001's Note - they just talked about him as if he was a new superstar in the making.}
09 Mar 2017 10:50:22
But eventually he didn't become one. But one good thing Ed01, there are quite handful of actors turned into decent actors after they have aged. Not saying Dorff is one of those, but he definitely could.
{Ed001's Note - I think it was just women loved him because of his voice, a bit like that Aaron Paul fella, who is such a crap actor but will always get roles because of his voice. Mind, it makes a nice change from people getting roles because they are related to the Coppolas or someone else famous.}
15 Mar 2017 01:09:41
I'm sitting reading that thread thinking you're talking about the guy in the 80's American Ninja films!!Michael Dudikoff D'Oh!!
{Ed001's Note - oh they were truly awful those. I wonder what happened to him?}
08 Mar 2017 12:37:07
I watched 'Logan' last night and I thought I'd do an alternative review to the one from a few days ago.
The Logan trailer was hands down the best trailer I've seen in years, the soundtrack set the mood, the violence looked appropriate and the 'Wolverine becomes a father figure to a young girl' story is the only one worth telling. My anticipation couldn't have been higher. Sadly, as often happens when you over anticipate something, the film struggles to live up to it.
We'll start with what does work, Hugh Jackman portrays Wolverine as world weary, bitter and vulnerable, its a great antidote to the usual portrayal as an unstoppable killing machine. Patrick Stewart is also very good, he's angry that he's so helpless, he's got a deep remorse for a hinted at tragedy but he's still an idealist at heart, there is one sequence in particular, when he gets to use his powers for something positive again, that is very satisfying. Laura, the young girl who they take in, completes a triumvirate of top performances (she doesn't say much but you can see her character learning as she watches people). The fight scenes are also good, the 'R' rating allows us to see, for the first time, how a bezerker with knives sticking out of his hands would fight but it's here they make the first mistake, frankly they take it too far.
The director hasn't used the 'R' rating to deal with more adult themes, he's used is as a license to indulge in a murder fantasy. Logan tears through legions of meaningless henchman and each one is dispatched in the most graphic way possible, it's violence for the sake of it rather than serving the story and by the end of the film I was completely numb to the latest claw through the head. The approach to swearing is also juvenile, Patrick Stewart in particular seems to think it's hilarious that he's allowed to curse now and let's skim over the flashing scene which serves literally no purpose other than to get a pair of boobs into a superhero movie.
Whilst the three main actors do a great job the supporting cast suffer. Stephen Merchant is terrible as Caliban who, instead of a character, is just a (poorly executed) plot device. Richard E Grant is completely wasted as the mastermind behind the plot and the chief henchman does nothing all film.
I mentioned the story earlier. Wolverine is actually a very shallow character (there's not a lot you can do with 'angry immortal warrior') but over the years he's been most interesting as a surrogate father figure to young girls (think Rogue in the first film or Jubilee and Kitty Pryde in the comics). The heart of the film should be the growing relationship between Laura and Logan and in this area it gets a solid B, there are a number of subtle moments that hint at the changing nature of this relationship but the emotional climax at the end doesn't feel fully earned, we haven't spent enough time seeing the effect they have on each other.
Logan is certainly the best of the Wolverine films and it's probably better than all but the first two X-men films. If your expecting a superhero film for adults it's not that, it's still shallow and gratuitous but if you want to see Wolverine cut loose in the way you've always hoped he would then you'll get a kick out of this.
13 Mar 2017 03:31:50
Did you really enjoy the first two X-Men movies? I am surprised at that! I am also surprised you think Wolverine is a shallow character, I would take it from that you have not read the comics? He has a lot more to offer than the films ever got into. In fact they cut out huge portions of his story and deliberately made him more shallow in his origin films. That was a mistake for me.
I am glad you agreed on Caliban, who was receiving rave reviews but I never understood that as he was ok like, but nothing special.
13 Mar 2017 11:15:40
I watched logan over the weekend and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it, I loved the brutality and I thought the story was pretty decent. Loved the references to the comics and professor X was incredible!
agree with both of you on Caliban there was quite literally no point in him being in the film, the only think I didn't like was the "new generation" didn't really get much time to showcase anything that part seemed rushed.
{Ed001's Note - I enjoyed Logan as well. Best of the X-Men films by a mile.}
15 Mar 2017 08:14:21
I rate the second x-men film as one of the best superhero films of all time (along with spiderman 2 and the dark Knight). I've always thought that wolverine was a good foil for other characters but was boring when he was the focus of the story. Basically I see him as cyclop's sidekick.
{Ed001's Note - the second X-men film? Really? It was dreadful! Mind so was Spidey 2.}
07 Mar 2017 22:12:14
Just a general post on Hollywood rather than a movie review. I'm starting to get sick of the reboots and remakes with female casts. Movies for me aren't just a story but actually a piece of art. Every decision regarding a movie is made for a reason and I enjoy taking it all in.
But the remakes is just cutting out the imagination (if I painted Mona Lisa with a small twist or as a male people wouldn't call it a masterpiece). I'm not saying for a second that all female movies are a bad thing, but they are being made as a money spinner rather than for the benefit of a story. If a suffergette movie was made with an all female cast and gave a unique insight into their movement then I would take the time to watch the movie.
My point is Hollywood needs to stop this era of remakes, get back to giving us unique movies or stories even Disney are pulling out the same tricks by either making sequels or live action movies.
Sorry for the rant but would be interested to see others opinions on the state of the movie industry as a whole.
{Ed001's Note - it is something I have moaned about more than once myself. I don't care about the cast per se, it is, like you said, that it is being done purely for monetary reasons rather than to make the film better.}
08 Mar 2017 12:40:58
I think you have to be pragmatic about or it will drive you mad. The studios are businesses with shareholders and profits are important, sequals and remakes are far more reliable than original films in that regard. There are still plenty of excellent films being made, you just need to search a little harder to find them.
08 Mar 2017 13:51:50
I get that they have to make money, but its the loose links to already marketed material that frustrates me.
I.e. today i have seen they are making a just cause movie. Why? The game is an open world game where you can pretty much do what you want. The movie will probably only have the link of the title and the name of the character.
I also agree there are some great movies being made but flooding the market with remakes and live action movies is just frustrating.
07 Mar 2017 06:38:50
Arrival (2016)
12 mysterious spacecraft touch down around the world and a linguist, played by Amy Adams, is one of the team brought in to try and communicate with the aliens. With the world on the brink of a war with the aliens, she has to go through life changing experiences with non-linear time to discover the key to understanding.
I found this film hard going and never managed to get into it at all, ending up with it just on in the background while I worked. As such I never got involved with the story at all, it just never captured me and ended up lost to me. If you are going to see this, you need to be in an environment where you can focus on it and give it full attention. It is not an easy watch, it is not a switch off and enjoy, you need to concentrate on it.
It is just not for me, I think it is something that would work better as a book, rather than a film, which just struggles to explore the concepts fully on screen.
06 Mar 2017 14:42:52
Just done watching The Drop, starring Tom Hardy. Hardy's character is a bartender, which during most of the times looked like a real innocent cool and quite guy. The film was slowly paced but really interesting which made me patiently sat through it until the end. Not much I could write about it, but definitely I will watch it again. To be honest, I never knew about this film before. It's Tom Hardy's, so definitely it is worth a watch. Try check this one out, guys.
07 Mar 2017 06:39:20
Is it an old or new film? Never heard of it to be honest.
07 Mar 2017 11:41:35
2014 Ed01. Not too old.
{Ed001's Note - I must have just totally missed that one coming out.}
07 Mar 2017 20:40:12
Has James Gandolfini in it, enjoyed it and think you are right. Slow film but worth a watch
08 Mar 2017 21:32:41
Good film. Suited tom hardy perfectly.
06 Mar 2017 03:13:38
Operation Chromite (2016)
A Korean movie starring Liam Neeson, very much an oddity! Based on true events from the Korean War, Neeson is cast as American general Douglas MacArthur, but is very much a supporting actor in this film.
This is the story of the Battle of Inchon, where MacArthur gambled everything on a massive invasion following in a crew of Korean commandos who went in ahead of the main force. The South Korean commandos masqueraded as North Korean forces to find out what information the North Koreans had.
If you are looking for a big budget special effects blockbuster, then I would suggest giving this film a miss. It is very much narrative-led, dealing with the story, rather than the story just being a backdrop to lots of explosions etc.
It was a decent enough movie, with Neeson able to ham it up as MacArthur. There is a good story there, one that very few people in the west have probably even heard of. Worth a watch.
04 Mar 2017 14:53:06
10 Cloverfield Lane. With the title "Cloverfield", one would expect it is somehow connected to the original Cloverfield. Some bits of it, yes indeed.
However, I was somehow dissappointed. The idea was brilliant, but I couldn't help myself but to feel as if I was watching one hour of a slasher horror film, and final few minutes of an alien invasion sci-fi film. Two different films squeezed into one. And for me, it was just a mess.
07 Mar 2017 20:43:20
TBH if it didn't half cloverfield in the title would be a very good film. John Goodman was really good but felt entirely mislead by the title, went in expected something linking it the cloverfield and have no idea why it was marketed this way. sounds like a small gripe but is like if aliens covenant ends up being a period piece about Alexander Hamilton.
08 Mar 2017 00:51:30
Plus Roland. at the end of the film, if it was indeed connected directly with Cloverfield, I would be very very dissappointed. Alien invasion? So the monster in the first movie was actually some sort of an alien soldier sent to destroy things before they come in masses to invade the Earth? I hate the idea.
02 Mar 2017 18:14:15
Logan (2017)
This is what they should have been doing with Wolverine all along. That was a fantastic finale to a thoroughly lacklustre series of films. Patrick Stewart was excellent as the elderly Charles Xavier, while I have to say Hugh Jackman finally made Wolverine work for him. I am no fan of Jackman, but he was very good in this film, just shows how good direction can make a huge difference.
Logan is brutal, finally unleashing Wolverine as the devastating ball of fury that he is in the comics. It was bloody, violent and very adult. Not in the way Deadpool was adult, with brutal bloody violence delivered with a comic edge. This was something with feeling, Wolverine was tired, old and in pain and the whole film conveyed his desire to just get some peace and be left to slip away in peace, tired of a life of violence and killing.
As a stand alone action movie, it was one of the better action films I have seen. As an X-man film, it was streets ahead of any other. It is just a shame that they have wasted this potential until Jackman's final film as Wolverine, because it showed he could carry off the character, when given the chance to do so.
02 Mar 2017 22:32:05
Any deadpool references either before of after the film?
X-men are a group of films I've just never round to watching, and when they started messing with the timeline it became either harder to start watching them. Now Jackmans done with wolverine maybe it's time to give it back to marvel to run with. I know it won't happen though as it's making too much cash.
02 Mar 2017 20:36:19
Ah ed have been a massive wolverine/comic fan since I was 5! Has had great reviews and seeing it this weekend and have made me more excited! Hope it's as good as it is being made to be, but do find it amazing it's taken 17 years to make a good wolverine film.isn't really a difficult concept
{Ed001's Note - I thought it was excellent mate and I think you will love it. They kept it clear, pretty much, of all the other films and just made a proper Wolverine film.}
03 Mar 2017 11:21:16
I have never watched any of the X-Men films, but I'm interested in this one. Also like the look of the last one with Apocalypse in ( if that's the right name).
Can anyone tell me the order of films I'd need to watch to get the story leading up to this one please? I'm not bothered about watching all of them
{Ed001's Note - there is no need to watch any of the others, and I really wouldn't recommend wasting your time doing so. None of the others were much good. This one is a totally stand alone film with no relation to the rest or requirement to watch any other.}
03 Mar 2017 14:29:29
I've only ever seen 1 X Men movie and that was the one where Magneto escaped from the plastic prison. Excellent scene that, shame the rest was rubbish.
{Ed001's Note - go see this one then mate, it is an excellent movie, nothing like other comic book films really.}
03 Mar 2017 19:57:35
Is the Apocalypse one not worth watching then Ed?
{Ed001's Note - I didn't enjoy it mate. Though there was a scene with Quicksilver which is well worth watching, other than that the only good thing about the film is Olivia Munn.}
04 Mar 2017 09:33:25
I'll watch it for her then Ed. She was the only reason I got through ride along 2 ha!
{Ed001's Note - she is well worth watching.....}
01 Mar 2017 04:45:05
100 Streets (2016)
I am not sure the title really works, as this ensemble film is really just about three people, one a former rugby player, played by the always excellent Idris Elba, one a taxi driver who had been in trouble when younger which is causing problems when he and his wife try to adopt and the third a young street drug dealer trying to go straight.
While Elba is very much the driving force behind the movie, he got the film made and it is his film, he is not really the central character. Instead the main spotlight is given to Kingsley, the young lad trying to go straight by making a start as an actor, after befriending a local theatre star while doing his community service.
This is a very good film, well acted and well directed, which does not really link the three stories, but does intertwine them cleverly, as the three have mutual contacts and friends. I recommend this film, it is one of the more interesting films I have seen recently, with a good story and excellent acting.
03 Mar 2017 14:31:14
Just from reading this, it sounds like Edris drew inspiration from his early life, before he was an actor.
{Ed001's Note - I don't know to be honest, I know nothing about the guy other than he is one of the better actors around.}