Films The Official bit-tech Movie Thread - What have you seen lately?

Blue Beetle
Oh dear / 10

 

I was thinking this at the weekend actually. Mainly because I watched a fistful of poor films whilst left to my own devices. Summary follows:

Out of Darkness 2 1/10
It doesn't know whether it wants to be Prey or 13th Warrior but it's getting a 2 because I'm not in a charitable mood and it has no originality about it. I'm also not against subtitles when there's a reason for them ie. a foreign language film, but if you're doing a boring stone age film that I can't even have on in the background whilst I get on with other stuff as it's all in a made-up language, then that makes me grumpy. In fact, I'm dropping it to 1 because it feels like this was written on Friday lunchtime to meet a deadline.

Strays -98/10
Just don't. It thinks it's funny but it's really not. Lasted three minutes. The score is the remainder of the film that went unseen.

Arrival 6/10
It was interesting but I expected more and had to think about it afterwards, which I'd rather not do. I like my films to be simple - don't throw it in my face but don't make me have to go on the internet after watching it to figure out if I'm actually thick (which is probably likely in most cases). In this instance though, turns out I wasn't thick, I was just expecting more.

Delivery Man 5/10
It doesn't know if it wants to be funny or tug at yer clicheds. It managed to be a Jack of both, but master of neither.

So that cleared some of the guff off the Sky box but didn't leave me with a wholly satisfactory feeling. Awaiting an extraordinary recommendation.

 

City Hunter (Netflix 2024) - 8/10

A solid re-introduction to Ryo Saeba, which attempts to set up a franchise

Spoiler

He takes out the chief villain, but learns he was only the organisation's "Regional Manager"

I must be weird. I figured out the plot twist about 1/3rd of the way in, while watching it in the cinema.
For the curious

Spoiler

The flashbacks Amy Adams has throughout the movie are actually flash-forwards, because learning the alien language "unlinked" her mind from linear time.

 

I enjoy all the current Godzilla films, but I never cared for the human element until Godzilla Minus One, I actually really cared and hoped!
Due a rewatch in black and white next

 

Agreed, its EASILY my favourite movie last year
Great visual FX ( in ALMOST every shot ) Great story, Great characters ( for once ) , that it was done for a Budget of $10mil is utterly humiliating for Hollywood
and it might just be my favourite Goji movie, its very close between Minus one and the OG, ( with KOTM and Shin taking the next 2 spots )

 

Could be one of three things:

• You're actually a lot more switched on than you give yourself credit for
• I wasn't really paying attention and was expecting an enormous twist that never came
• I'm actually a bit simple and everything just washed over me because I like my films to be laid out nicely

It was late as well and I'd just endured one of the others mentioned above, but I say fair play to ya - I didn't get it until the credits rolled.

Also this afternoon in the background whilst doing other stuff - The Beekeeper 1/10
Good lord. How these people signed up willingly to make this film, I'll never know (cold hard $$). Some decent unarmed combat moves that are the only reason it gets its singular point.

I'd like to give Equaliser 3 a solid 3/10 from what memory of it I have from the other night, but I'd also like to try and rate films that others on here haven't already previously reviewed. And I'm currently subjecting myself to the background torture of Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance. It's already earned a point for having a "rattly old" (@sandys - how dare you?) XR3 as a getaway motor. Brilliant though - "I can't get rid of this hot car that ties us to the crime 'cos I've got something on tonight." Splendid banditry.

 

I’m a sucker for sci-fi so I quite enjoyed the story of Arrival. But what I enjoyed the most was the atmosphere of the film. The cinematography, lighting, and sound design was absolutely fantastic IMO. The VFX were also spot on; I didn’t find myself noticing any obvious “tricks of the trade”, like moments where it was obvious they had to use a green screen, or badly composited visual elements.

 

Twister UHD: Jan de Bont; Why?!/10

I'm not a fan of disaster films because they're often about people doing retarded **** during a disaster and dying as a result, however I really liked Twister as it put a novel spin on the premesis, when i heard there was a 4k uhd in the works with a new Atmos track i was very pleased, however Bont has decided to pull a Cameron and play god with his work; and he's not very good at it either.

Adding shoddy looking lightning strikes to distant storms is one thing but the colour regrade is a whole new level of nasty, tornado scenes now feature a very promenant green tint which during a tornado is a very real thing I've learnt but here its messy, nasty artifacts plague seperating key figures from the new green sky and the darkening of scenes in the storm result in crushing blacks and lots of lost detail, the atmos track is the star tho with some great fun in the over heads and a bass that will change happily the post code of your sub.

Gimmie the original theather colour grading with this audio track and ill be happy but as it stands; blegh.

 

Beverly Hills Cop Axel F.
Ass.
1/10

 

I actually enjoyed it more than I expected. Maybe it was the nostalgia.

6/10 for me.

 

Smile

Horror?

Some predictable bits. Not scary. Shallow characters who are extraordinarily stupid.

Yawn.

 

Lifeless would be the quote I would use.
They left it far too long to come back.

 

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts - Remove brain, insert beer / 10

Not as bad as I'd feared, (no Shia LeBouef). Interesting teaser in the post-credits scene (see spoiler).

Spoiler

The hero goes for a security guard interview at what appears to be a trucking company, is very cagy about his recent activites.
The interviewer knows far too much about his life, including what hero isn't saying.
The hero is creeped and turns down job offer.
The interviewer says "In lieu of a medal, your little brother's healthcare is paid for. Call it the thanks of a grateful nation. If you change your mind, here" & hands him a business card.
The hero turns the card over to reveal the printing on the other side.
"G I Joe"

 

Inside Out 2.

Not as charming / 10

Solid movie, nothing wrong but not the same magic or sense of wonder that the first one instilled. Some of the new emotions felt superfulous and could have been explained by more or less of the existing emotions. Its representation of anxiety and how it can so easily take over was interesting but very much pitched at young teenager levels of nuance (not really a criticism for a kids film!)

 

Anyone But You
Sweeney/10

More reverse racism, which seems to be the trend these days, following the US's wake-up call.

 

Dune 2 - Oh god, why did I watch it, I hated the books but forced my way through them over a year or two.
Beverly Hills Cop Axel F - After Dune this nearly finished films for me, 2 awfuls in quick succession
Kingdom of The Planet of the Apes - Oh yeah, I like films again. Best planet of the apes in this latest series

 

Free Guy.
Decent, harmless bit of fun.

 

Galaxy Quest - Where No One Has Gone Before/10

The absolute best Star Trek movie ever made. I will die on this hill!

 

Longlegs
6/10
Creepy.

 

Deadpool & Wolverine - So.Many.Cameos / 10

A worthy coda to Fox's X-men franchise.