|
|
Post by britesparc on Mar 25, 2024 14:18:27 GMT
Con Air (1997) - 80/100 - It's ridiculous and completely over the top, but it knows it and delivers a wonderful package of over the top fun. The cast list is absolutely stacked, the practical effects are glorious, it's oozing 90s action style, and Cage doesn't hold back with the cheese. The sort of film you might call a guilty pleasure, but I feel no guilt in loving it. I always thought Con Air was the weakest of Cage's "Holy Trinity" of 90s action movies. But when I rewatched them all last year, I think its inherent ridiculousness has aged a lot better than Face/Off. Bloody loved it. The Rock is still the best, mind. |
|
|
|
Post by Bill in the rain on Mar 25, 2024 14:27:12 GMT
The Rock - 9.5/10 This would be a 10 if it wasn't for my hatred of modern Michael Bay stuff and this film reminding me of it. Though he really was a master of his craft in the 90's. Cage, Connery, Harris, Biehn, Forsythe all at the top of their game and its just absolute top tier 90s action. Thank you for rewatching this! I always thought it was great, but I've hated almost everything Bay has done since then, so I was really worried that it might actually be awful. Glad to hear that's not the case. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2024 14:47:31 GMT
I thought Pain & Gain was good.
|
|
|
|
Post by clemfandango on Mar 25, 2024 14:57:11 GMT
The only modern movie of his I've liked is 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, I really enjoyed that.
|
|
MolarAmšµ
Full Member
Bad at games
Posts: 6,830
Member is Online
|
Post by MolarAmšµ on Mar 25, 2024 20:44:26 GMT
Ambulance is pretty great imo, if people haven't seen that already.
|
|
Lizard
Junior Member
I love ploughmans
Posts: 4,471
|
Post by Lizard on Mar 25, 2024 20:52:23 GMT
Whenever I think of Ambulance my brain turns into 'Ambulance!', and I imagine poster showing Sean William Scott hanging on to the back doors whilst Melissa McCarthy mugging in the driver's seat.
|
|
|
|
Post by drhickman1983 on Mar 25, 2024 20:54:22 GMT
Didn't get on with Pain & Gain or 13 Hours, but I actually liked the Ambulance one he did.
Anyway, just watched:
The Beekeeper
It's nonsense but I actually enjoyed it. Basically another film in the John Wick / Equaliser / Taken style revenge rampage.
Statham does his usual Statham thing, but there's a few nice supporting characters and actors Jeremy Irons in particular seems to have a bit of fun.
It rattled along nicely so you don't have time to consider just how silly it all is but I had fun.
7/10
|
|
|
|
Post by simple on Mar 26, 2024 0:47:29 GMT
The Dead Donāt Die (amazon rental)
Jim Jarmusch doing a deadpan parody zombie movie. Its not as funny as I remember it being and plays its zombie genre cards pretty straight. Feels a lot like Jarmusch has got his pals around to mess about and shoot a stupid horror film for the weekend. It really is all his pals too, its Wes Anderson levels of everyone in this ensemble could carry a movie like this solo, heās got a ridiculously stacked cast for his dumbest movie. Its entertaining enough, although not sure thereās enough meat on the bone for multiple viewings.
Pig (all4)
Another slight disappointment. Nicholas Cage comes out of the woods to try and rescue his stolen, beloved, pig. I feel a bit like I was missold this one and for such a short film its quite a slow burn. Maybe its just the premise of āCage hunts pigā but I was expecting something a lot more action-packed or unusual. Its fine but probably not a recommendation from me.
|
|
|
|
Post by britesparc on Mar 26, 2024 10:51:28 GMT
The Flash (2023) ***
I think if I was a professional critic, I'd struggle to know how to review this film. For what it's worth, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Miller is actually really good in dual roles, managing to feel like different characters at all times, but also nailing moments of incredibly silly comedy as well as genuine emotion. It does "fun superhero bollocks" very well for the most part; there are some terrific Batman moments, and it really is very comic-booky. But it's also packed with wall-to-wall digital effects that make it feel very cartoony and weightless; the timey-wimey stuff doesn't really make a lot of sense; and the multiversal shenanigans don't really feel earned and it just comes off as rather cheesy fan service. I wonder if I'd seen it in the cinema, before just being alive on the internet spoiled all the cameos, I'd have liked it more? Anyway, as I said, I really enjoyed it as a fan of superhero movies but if you told me you thought it was shit I'd understand.
(Sky)
|
|
nazo
Junior Member
Posts: 1,294
|
Post by nazo on Mar 26, 2024 11:47:29 GMT
I thought it was shit.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dougs on Mar 26, 2024 11:51:04 GMT
A review format we can all get behind imo.
|
|
|
|
Post by britesparc on Mar 26, 2024 12:25:57 GMT
I'd love an oral history on the long, long gestation of The Flash. You can totally see where it was a straight-up adaptation of Flashpoint; there were rumours ages ago that Jeffrey Dean Morgan had been cast as the Thomas Wayne Batman, the film has a super-person hidden in darkness and so deprived of their powers, and several other plot beats from the mini-series (that I won't spoil in case you want to read the comic/watch the movie).
And all this is before the post-Justice League panic about the future of the DCEU and the whole Ezra Miller of it all.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bill in the rain on Mar 26, 2024 13:37:22 GMT
The Flash (2023) ***I think if I was a professional critic, I'd struggle to know how to review this film. For what it's worth, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Miller is actually really good in dual roles, managing to feel like different characters at all times, but also nailing moments of incredibly silly comedy as well as genuine emotion. It does "fun superhero bollocks" very well for the most part; there are some terrific Batman moments, and it really is very comic-booky. But it's also packed with wall-to-wall digital effects that make it feel very cartoony and weightless; the timey-wimey stuff doesn't really make a lot of sense; and the multiversal shenanigans don't really feel earned and it just comes off as rather cheesy fan service. I wonder if I'd seen it in the cinema, before just being alive on the internet spoiled all the cameos, I'd have liked it more? Anyway, as I said, I really enjoyed it as a fan of superhero movies but if you told me you thought it was shit I'd understand. (Sky) I watched it in the cinema, and so managed to avoid most spoilers about the cameos, except for the main Batman, but he was even in the trailers so I don't think that counts.
It was interesting to watch it around the same time as Indy 5. They were both films I went into with hope but trepidation, and ended up mostly enjoying, even if they weren't great. They were both 30 minutes too long. They both had action scenes that went on way too long. They both had some dodgy cgi and rather weird endings.
I think I rated them both about the same, kinda 6.5-7 /10. But I think my opinion of Indy 5 has soured more over time. Mainly because Flash was more of a laugh.
I think what hurt it was all the buildup about it being some amazing Best Superhero Movie EVER! And also coming out after a bunch of Marvel multiverse movies already stole its thunder.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2024 14:39:42 GMT
I wish I were as nice as you two. I thought it was bad even by DCEU standards. Itās down there with Black Adam as the two worst films in that umbrella. Also the CG has to be the worst Iāve seen since the 90s, when the tech was new.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bill in the rain on Mar 26, 2024 14:44:31 GMT
I think they just tried to do too much with the cgi. There are large parts where the cgi is fine, but you don't notice those because it's fine. But I'm not sure there was any way to do a 5 minute slow-mo action sequence involving cgi babies and dogs that wasn't going to look very weird.  |
|
mikeck
Junior Member
Posts: 1,916
|
Post by mikeck on Mar 26, 2024 14:52:57 GMT
DCEU CGI is the gift that keeeps on giving - not really moved on from the accursed Superman moustache removal.
|
|
nazo
Junior Member
Posts: 1,294
|
Post by nazo on Mar 26, 2024 14:54:10 GMT
I thought Miller's performance was a bit of a mixed bag: on the one hand his performance as 2 version of the same character was really convincing; on the other hand both of them were so incredibly annoying they left me hoping that they'd somehow cause themselves to never have existed.
|
|
|
|
Post by britesparc on Mar 26, 2024 15:00:46 GMT
I think they just tried to do too much with the cgi. There are large parts where the cgi is fine, but you don't notice those because it's fine. But I'm not sure there was any way to do a 5 minute slow-mo action sequence involving cgi babies and dogs that wasn't going to look very weird. I think the babies bit and the stuff in the speed force is fine; it doesn't look "real" but it's so artificial that it didn't bother me (like MODOK in Quantumania, he looked weird but he was always kinda going to look weird so I was fine with it). It was the really heavy use of CG for Batman's fight scenes (both at the beginning and end of the film) that took me out of it a little bit. That's sort of what I meant by "cartoony" - Batman leaping over cars or swooping over Russian soldiers was so clearly CGI so it reminded me of the Justice League cartoon. On the flipside, the sheer amount of seamless face replacement going on in the film is quite extraordinary and incredibly well done. |
|
|
|
Post by imamazed on Mar 26, 2024 15:04:29 GMT
Late Night with the Devil
Found footage, but it's a 70s late night talk show where mad shit happened and it had to be pulled, or something.
Yeh, a good horror film. Some of the second act contrivances had me slightly underwhelmed, but the final few minutes completely won me round.
4*
|
|
|
|
Post by Vandelay on Mar 26, 2024 16:09:44 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by drhickman1983 on Mar 27, 2024 22:04:31 GMT
Watched The Flash last night.
I was expecting it to be awful, and it wasn't good, but I enjoyed it more than I expected and some of the humour actually landed for me.
7/10
This evening was invited to the cinema by family so saw Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.
Pretty boring, with a leaden pace. Bill Murray absolutely phoning it in, the other old guard a bit more invested but still a bit unnecessary. The entire thing is just lukewarm and critically, the humour was lacking and entirely boil-in-the-bag.
5/10. honestly the 2016 Ghostbusters was better.
|
|
|
|
Post by retro74 on Mar 27, 2024 22:16:24 GMT
I watched Ghostbusters Frozen Empire yesterday (Warrington Odeon)
Enjoyed it but can understand the criticism it receives. Thereās no real main protagonist to carry the story so itās a little directionless at times. The finale is pretty average too
Also ādrone trapsā? Whichever marketing genius thought that one up get fucked you fucking bellend, absolutely terrible
Still entertaining and it occasionally feels like a Ghostbusters movie, more due to the score than anything else
6 out of 10
|
|
|
|
Post by retro74 on Mar 27, 2024 22:18:17 GMT
I also watched Ghostbusters Afterlife the other day in prep, Ā£3.49 on SKY  Seen it a couple of times before but still enjoyed it, definitely better than Frozen Empire 7.5 out of 10 |
|
|
|
Post by drhickman1983 on Mar 27, 2024 22:19:53 GMT
Afterlife was definitely better, that would be a decent 7/10
To be fairn to Frozen Empire, on reflection I did like the Nadeem character. Kumail Nanjiani pretty much stole every scene he was in, and did get a few laughs from me.
There are some scenes that might be a 6 or even 7/10, but there's just a lot of chaff.
|
|
|
|
Post by clemfandango on Mar 27, 2024 23:01:28 GMT
48 hours - 9/10
Prime Murphy and Nolte team up to bring down cop killers.
Literally no fat on this, every scene is great and itās pretty much a perfect 80s buddy action movieā¦.
ā¦.but my god itās racist, I know it was different times and all but I canāt give it a 10
|
|
|
|
Post by Saul1138 on Mar 28, 2024 2:51:18 GMT
Surely the problem with the Flash is he is supposed to be an intellectual genius, yet has to have everything that is going on explained to him? It was a mildly interesting film, but the inconsistency with some of the characters was jarring.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jambowayoh on Mar 28, 2024 11:19:52 GMT
As Spooky says The Flash was one of the worse DC movies I'd seen in a long time and is up there with Black Adam. Still, none of them are as worse Wonder Woman 84, that level of odiousness is still to be beaten.
|
|
|
|
Post by brokenkey on Mar 28, 2024 12:48:55 GMT
Late Night with the Devil Found footage, but it's a 70s late night talk show where mad shit happened and it had to be pulled, or something. Yeh, a good horror film. Some of the second act contrivances had me slightly underwhelmed, but the final few minutes completely won me round. 4* I enjoy it a lot, but the very end sequence was a bit weird. |
|
Binky
Junior Member
Posts: 1,113
|
Post by Binky on Mar 29, 2024 9:28:16 GMT
Sorry in advanceā¦
Aliens (4K update)
An absolutely glorious update. Clean, clear and Iām not sure if itās because itās the first time Iāve seen it on my OLED or because of the update but the lighting seemed so much better. Shots that I remember being harder to see were bursting with details that Iād previously not clocked.
Still a great movie too.
10/10
|
|
loto
Junior Member
Posts: 1,031
|
Post by loto on Mar 29, 2024 11:59:33 GMT
I wish it was 4K on Apple; can imagine it would look glorious
All of Us Strangers 9.58/10 (Disney)
This is just achingly sad and beautifully acted. A lonely man, played by Andrew Scott moves into a London tower block and forms a gay relationship with another damaged soul.
Scottās character can also visit his childhood home and chat with his deceased parents. Thereās no hokum, itās played āstraightā and how is never explored. I donāt want to spoil it, but itās deeply moving. I thought Scott and Claire Foy in particular were superb.
Highly recommended, but prepare to cry.
|
|
