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Author Topic: Respond to the last movie you watched  (Read 684404 times)

DarkeningHumour

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #990 on: June 14, 2017, 12:47:13 PM »
« Studies show... »

I'd like to read that abstract.
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Corndog

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #991 on: June 15, 2017, 02:32:22 PM »
Cars 3 (Brian Fee, 2017)

Pixar Animation Studios has been within the legendary status for film studios for some time now. They've given us so many classics and truly spectacular animated films. They've also revolutionized the way animated films are made. Nobody can take this away from the studio. And yet, the Cars franchise, which is the brainchild and pet project of Pixar co-founder John Lasseter, who has since moved on to revitalize Walt Disney Animation Studios, has been a popular property of the studio for critics and even fans alike to pan. "Pan" is probably too strong a word, these are good films, but given the reputation of the studio, Cars pulls in behind the field. But with Cars 3, the franchise breaths some new life.

Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is still riding high from dominating the racing circuit, but soon a new generation of race car is hitting the track, led by Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer), who uses next gen analysis and training methods to optimize his performance. Lagging behind, a horrible wreck sidelines McQueen for the season. But hungry for a return to the track to prove his mettle and pride, McQueen teams up with trainer Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo) and his former mentor's mentor, Smokey (Chris Cooper), to find a unique blend of old school and new school in order to squeeze the last bit of track out of his tires before time has fully passed him by.

What Pixar has done with Cars 3 is a very smart direction for the franchise. In danger of becoming stale with a third installment, the creative team forms a narrative which is likely most attractive to the parents of the kids who turn out in droves to enjoy their favorite characters. The film poignantly comments on aging, and how to deal with it gracefully. It is hard to know when our time has past, when it becomes necessary to adapt to new ways and stop preaching the old. This delicate balance is difficult for people of all ages, as we continue to go through phases of change throughout our lives.

But the film is more than a philosophical gesture towards changing times and new and improved methods. It's also a fun ride! In recent years, especially with The Good Dinosaur and the short Piper, Pixar has made remarkable strides in the technology of computer animation. The result is a gorgeous film here. While the Cars characters are among the most bland, visually speaking, the racing scenes here are truly breathtaking animation, the Lightning wreck especially. There is enough excitement, humor and fun throughout to even overcome the fact that Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) is back once again, though thankfully in a much smaller role this time.

Cars 3 is a consistently entertaining film, and captures the romanticism of racing along with the both the beauty and anguish of aging, giving it a photo finish with the original in terms of best in the series. Cars 2 so clearly lags behind. With that being said, Cars 3 is also overly formulaic. If you have seen any comeback story, or aging story, you know every single note that will be hit within the 100 minutes of Cars 3. It's very familiar and while that's a knock, there is also something very comforting about it. Cars is not up to par with most of Pixar's catalog, but with this installment, it deserves to be spoken about with praise and reverence, even if slightly muted. 

*** - Good
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Corndog

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #992 on: June 15, 2017, 03:00:34 PM »
47 Meters Down (Johannes Roberts, 2017)

No summer is complete without a shark attack movie since Steven Spielberg wowed audiences with Jaws in 1975. While that may not be true (there isn't a shark attack movie every summer), it remains that what Jaws did was inspire a generation of wannabes. I understand this is a review of the film 47 Meters Down, but if you get anything out of it, please go see Jaws if you haven't already. It's the benchmark. But in all seriousness, 47 Meters Down is the type of film that seems tailor-made for a summer release dump. A short scary movie that is just interesting and entertaining enough to make it into a theater as salvation from the rising temperatures outside. It's enough to sit through in order to get a solid dose of A/C.

As with most of these types of movies, any semblance of a plot is merely shoehorned into the proceedings to try to get us to care about the characters, when all we really want is to see some shark action! Here that flimsy story is that of two sisters, Lisa (Mandy Moore) and Kate (Claire Holt). Lisa had planned a vacation to Mexico with her boyfriend, but after breaking up with him, she invites Kate to tag along. While there, they meet a couple of cute guys who persuade them to do a shark dive. The more adventurous Kate convinced the timid Lisa to go along with the idea to prove to her boyfriend that she can be fun and exciting. However, once in the water, the cable to their cage breaks, plunging them 47 meters down onto the ocean floor with limited oxygen remaining. 

I was ready to walk out after the first five minutes. Everything about this film was pretty bad. The backstory on display here is pretty bad, even as shark attack movies go. If the intention was for me to care about these characters, to be invested in their survival once they get into the cage at the bottom of the open ocean predicament, then the filmmakers were way off base. This is a movie with two female leads and I'm not even sure it passes the Bechdel Test, which states that two named women characters must talk to each other about something other than men in order to pass. Writer/director Johannes Roberts paints Lisa and Kate with such broad strokes that all they can talk about is risking their lives to take a couple pictures that might impress Lisa's ex into taking her back. Ugh.

Fast forward to the actual shark attack scenes though, and things begin to get better, if only marginally. Moore is particularly bad in this film, playing the endlessly whiny and hapless damsel in distress, and Holt isn't much better though she is at least a little more self-sufficient. I would have liked to have seen Moore's Lisa have the arc of someone who overcomes, but she is pretty consistently whiny, and so is the performance. Now where the film succeeds, at least somewhat, is with the shark attack scenes. Roberts films this underwater film in enough darkness to make the sharks mysterious. We never know when they'll come, or where they'll come from, making it fairly suspenseful throughout.

The only problem is the characters are so bland and annoying most of the time that the suspense is somewhat withdrawn. It came to the point that I started rooting for the sharks in fact, as morbid as that sounds, just on the basis of how horrible the characters and film were. That is a pretty serious indictment on a pretty horrible film. I would suggest avoiding this trainwreck if at all possible. If you are forced to see it, or it's the next showtime at a theater in which you are taking refuge from the endlessly hot sun, just sit back and try to enjoy yourself. Have a laugh at the film's expense. Maybe even enjoy some of the shark moments.

** - Poor
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1SO

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #993 on: June 15, 2017, 04:09:11 PM »
After the disaster of Cars 2 I swore my wife would not drag me to Cars 3. I watched the Crazy 8s scene with the big bus and it reaffirmed my decision. But reviews keep coming out positive.

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #994 on: June 15, 2017, 05:52:51 PM »
It came to the point that I started rooting for the sharks in fact

Sharks are great, you should always root for them. 
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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #995 on: June 15, 2017, 06:11:15 PM »
I will watch 47 Meters Down and I will hate myself for it. I can't resist sharks.
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DarkeningHumour

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #996 on: June 16, 2017, 09:35:43 AM »
I was undecided about watching Cars 3 but you're giving me hope Corndog. Still don't know about catching up with Cars 2 though.
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DarkeningHumour

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #997 on: June 16, 2017, 10:02:25 AM »
Prometheus
Ridley Scott (2012)


I wrote a whole diatribe last week about how dumb Prometheus is, from head to toes, with the head being its criminally incompetent its characters are (literally, this is like involuntary manslaughter porn) and the toes being something like the idiotic spaceship design that implies that there was an interior decorator who figured that the bioweapon supply storage room was the perfect spot to place a giant, ornamental head. It was a long diatribe, and I unfortunately lost it. I don't know how long this one will go on for, probably not as long, I have lost my impetus, but then again, I have just finished my intro statement in and already I am multiple tweets in.

Maybe the fundamental flaw with Prometheus is that it is a serious movie that operates on children animation logic. In the days after having watched it I was perhaps too angry at the movie to think about it in those more analytical terms (more analytical than finding diverse and fresh ways to call it a moronic piece of screenwriting that is) but time enough has passed and my feelings of violent irritation have passed.

So, seriousness and so forth. Prometheus is like one of those shows where scientists are completely unscientific ; machines work on semi-magical levels, like the automatised operation table that performs invasive surgery in less than two minutes ; professionals shirk their life or death responsibilities to fool around and everything is connected by outlandish sci-fi concepts that could be explained if they did not act more as gimmicks than anything else.

I have never been a fan of the sci-fi trope of humanity having been created by a more advanced species, but if that is going to be the premise for the movie, should there not be some amount of philosophical introspection on the part of the characters (and hopefully, the film itself) instead of having them, say, poke alien lifeforms despite their multiple PhDs? The script is shockingly dumb at every turn - I originally wrote that there are no five consecutive minutes in the entire movie that could plausibly occur as they do in a logic-abiding universe, and I stand by that. The perfect example is the first exploration of the dome, where a team of scientists opens doors willy-nilly and never takes the simplest precautions to safeguard the integrity of their discoveries, or indeed, their lives. It is as if the tomb of Tutankhamen had been dug into with a power drill and then searched by men dressed as the Michellin logo. 

In a cast of remarkable quality Michael Fassbender is the only one given anything close to a real character and depth. He is the only good thing on screen really, and the rest of the star power is lost in secondary roles and atrocious makeup.

As a prequel, unless there is something about Alien 3 and 4 I don't know about that I should, this feels more like a cashgrab than anything else, regardless of what happens in Covenant, so tenuously is the plot connected to the rest of the Alien universe. I did not need to know where the Death Star plans had come from, but at least Rogue One was a fun movies - you know, at times. Prometheus is not. It is a movie designed to make you tear your eyes out so you don't have to witness one more absurd turn of events.

3/10
« Last Edit: June 16, 2017, 10:44:19 AM by DarkeningHumour »
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oldkid

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #998 on: June 16, 2017, 10:23:34 AM »
So that seems like a pretty solid take down.  (I liked Prometheus myself, but I wouldn't rebut your review).

If Prometheus is a 3, what would be a 2 or a 1?
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DarkeningHumour

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Re: Respond to the last movie you watched
« Reply #999 on: June 16, 2017, 10:48:11 AM »
I am loath to rate any movie lower than 3. I recently did that to Ritchie's King Arthur, because whereas, like Prometheus, it insulted one's intelligence, it added injury to insult by assaulting the senses. I now believe colour-deprivation should be considered like a legitimate form of torture. My most reviled movie of all time is probably Eragon, which doesn't have a single redeeming quality, and whose awfulness I will assert until my death. There may be a couple other movies that would deserve that rating, but I would likely have tried to erase them from my memory, like that ghastly Predator ripoff.
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