Topic: The Movie Thread

@Th3solution Just give Uwe Bol a £10 note and a couple of weeks...

That said - I liked Prince of Persia, Mortal Kombat - given the source material is a good stab. And, I actually thought Assassin's Creed was alright, though it did have some pacing issues, and came across as though it was pretty badly hacked up in the edit.
Papers, please was pretty perfect.

I don't think it's all as different to adapting a book, or comic. Just the people involved really. Adapting a game is largely a franchise opportunity; so the motivations of decision makers are often solely about making money. The story and characters present in the TR reboot would translate perfectly, even the set pieces for key action scenes. As a creative choice - jettisoning the supporting cast of Lara's story is akin to dumping Sully from an Uncharted film. Stupid. But it keeps absolute focus on Lara.

@KALofKRYPTON I agree. I did not know here was a Papers, please film adaptation. A quick google search shows that it is available on YouTube, so I should watch that, except I haven’t played the game yet. Maybe I should do that first

@Th3solution Papers, Please is only a short - but a very, very well done one.

The feel and tone of the game have been very well observed. It's all fairly on-the-nose stuff (in the game), but well put across nonetheless.

Absolutely play the game first! I have the Vita version, which is great. Didn't play it on mobile or PC - I should think either would be an easier proposition, but the vita control scheme is brilliant - both for thoughtful design and I think adding to the occasionally overwhelming nature of the game.

It's about as much on Steam as it is Vita at this point I reckon. But yes - highly, highly recommended game.

I've probably wobbled on about this before but I genuinely think there is an issue in adapting a lot of games into movies and that is a big part of why we haven't really had a cracker of a good gaming movie. The first point is that the story is often an enabler for the gameplay - by that I mean, the setup and story are often done to serve the gameplay style. They can be pretty out there but its ok in a game because they create unique gameplay systems. Assassins Creed is a good example - the actual plot (assassins fighting templars for a mcguffin and templars using assassins descendents to find their genetic memory to try and find said mcguffin) sounds pretty ridiculous but is more acceptable in a game.

Not only that but many game stories are not that unique but the gameplay dimension makes them feel so. If you strip away just the bare story in TLOU, actually elements of the story has been done elsewhere. What makes it special is that you live that experience in the game.

Thirdly, games are a long art form, like books, and can easily include supplementary material to enhance the world (notes, audio logs, environmental storytelling etc.). Films can't do this so rely on the characters and overall plot. I know that many have tried to adapt Bioshock and on the surface, this sounds like a great idea but if you imagine the amount of plotting you would need, just to explain Rapture, Adam, the Little Sisters, Big Daddies, as well as the characters, you can see how tough it would be to make something cohesive.

Lastly, I think studios are just looking for name recognition and want to show iconic scenes from games in trailers to sell the movie, which means having to lift things from games into movies.

All my opinions of course, and I am sure it is possible for some games to make good movies but I think it is pretty difficult. I thought Assassins Creed was OK, as have been several other movies but I think adapting a game is a more unique challenge then say,a book or comic.

@Rudy_Manchego As a follow on thought... comic to game (say - The Wolf Among Us), to film.
The adaptation to game is well done. The tone, sound, and atmosphere of the whole game is masterful. I honestly think that the 'ideal' path through the game as directed could largely be transposed as is and edited to a very satisfying film.

Also, as long form as games are as an art form - so are books - usually more so and often with very little visual and auditory reference attached - yet they are adapted successfully as often as they are not.

I honestly think that the 'cash grab' nature of movies based on games is the main downfall.

@KALofKRYPTON Actually, I think Papers, please was a free offering recently on PS plus, so the game is sitting in my digital library already. I have no excuse not to play it... well, other than Persona 5, Bloodborne, Gravity Rush 2, and Trails of Cold Steel which are in my rotation right now 😜 I have heard many good things about the game so I should move it up my backlog list toward the top.

@Rudy_Manchego Yeah, that’s true. Video game stories at their core tend to either be standard fare, or so incredibly long and convoluted (I’m looking at you Kojima) that it makes translation into film a creative endeavor. But I believe it can be done better than it has been to this point.

I watched Justice League. I liked it, I thought it was a decent movie. Some of the complaints I’ve heard regarding a poorly explained villain or it being too much for the characters to be all introduced, I disagree. That being said, it was the weakest of the DC movies so far. It had some corny dialogue and tried to be too witty at times m, yet somehow some of that still worked as serious dialogue. I really liked how it utilized the background of the characters who have already had movies. Wonder Woman especially had good use. I hoe skirt really liked the Flash. I’ve never been interested in his character before, but I really liked and loved how he had some K-Pop (or J-pop) in the background whn he was getting introduced. The Flash also could have used a little more character progression. You can also tell the director switch in the beginning of the movie, but to be far that would be harder to solve.

Kingsmen: the Golden Circle (DVD) - Like the first, a really, really fun ride. While it's more in your face than the Bond films, I'm really glad that someone's taken the mantle of creating spy flicks with all sorts of cool gadgets while the modern Bond flicks are too busy chasing after the rough and tumble vibe of Bourne movies.

Caddyshack (Netflix) - One of the big comedies of the 80's that I hadn't seen yet. It's a pretty fun time if you know what you're in for.

@RogerRoger i finally got round to getting Under the Red Hood, i'm quite behind on my DC animated movies

as for Justice League i enjoyed it, not a masterpiece by any sense of the word but it was a fun, enjoyable movie and i agree on Suicide Squad it's a bit of a mess

also I hope that's not true about "Batflek" he is one of the standout performances as i have to say a great Batman so i hope he doesn't get cut back and we get a full Batman film with Batflek in the future

@RogerRoger to be honest i can see WB dropping the DCEU altogether if the next few movies don't do well which is a shame, it came in a post avengers super hero world, it was NEVER going to reach the heights that film did

as for Under the Red Hood i only got it this morning so no i haven't watched it but i will tonight

@RogerRoger Anxiously awaiting your impressions of The Last Jedi

Less than a month to go, anybody looking forward to Avengers: Infinity War? I'm really loving what I've seen so far in the teasers and trailers. After that, it's Deadpool 2.

Annihilation - thought provoking sci-fi in the same vain as Arrival and Interstellar, although there is more action than those films. I hated those films though and enjoyed Annihilation. One scene, oh mah gawd, is one of the most horrific and unnerving scenes I've seen in recent times. Cast do a really good job and the cinematography is impressive. Some of the cgi can look a bit low budget and some people will not like the ambiguity of some parts.

It just occurred to me, that Ben Affleck has got to be one of the few actors to play a lead superhero in a Marvel movie (Daredevil) and a DC movie (Batman). The only other one I can think of is Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool and Green Lantern)
Am I missing any?

I wanted to enjoy Annihilation. It looks good. It has the appearance of smart sci-fi. I went to see it on opening weekend. It pretty much turns into a pretentious horror movie as it goes on, though, and has nothing of substance to say. The Shimmer was an interesting visual metaphor for cancer, but that's about all I've got with regard to that movie.

But then, I absolutely adored Arrival and, against my better judgment, really enjoyed the hammy Interstellar.

@Th3solution
I'd recommend the Affleck Daredevil movie. It gets a bad rep', rather unfairly I think.

There's a director's cut version that is a better ride than the theatrical one - but in general it is worthwhile, and very 2003! 😁

As for the Marvel/DC thing... Quite a lot of crossover but not many as leads I can think of.
Hally Berry was Catwoman and Storm
Michael Keaton was Batman and Vulture
Zoe Saldana was in The Losers and Guardians
Josh Brolin was Jonah Hex and is Thanos and coming up as Cable in Deadpool
Larry Fishburne was Perry White and the Silver Surfer
Natalie Portman was in V for Vendetta and Thor.

Can't think of many more...

@Th3solution
Hugo Weaving! V and The Red Skull

@Th3solution Schwarzenegger! Conan and Mr Freeze

Can we throw in Billy Zane too? Only one film but like, 5 publishers have had a go at The Phantom comics 😂

If I'm not mistaken Ryan Reynolds was in the last Blade movie too.

@WanderingBullet Let's not talk about that 😥