Topic: The Movie Thread

@LN78 since I lack the academic background to back up what I said earlier, I’ll leave out that part about my opinions as to avoid a dishonest discussion on my part. I think it’s better to just say what resonated with me rather.
I believe my gaming and non gaming opinions cross-wiring there was pretty silly because I was clearly way stronger in my tone in my gaming opinions, mainly for comedic purposes, but I know that was gonna seem like the intention for my movie ones too, which aren’t. Being someone who saw too many films doesn’t elevate me above others, it just means I have more than a few stories to tell.

There was definitely one part that was absolutely dishonest. I was trying to pay tribute to Ray’s passing but there was definitely a more tasteful way to do it.
Donnie Brasco is just a really awesome movie for me that came to me at the best possible point in my life, where I was both getting properly invested again in crime stuff while also having geographical curiosity about America, especially New York.
See, back in 2008, I played GTA IV not really knowing what parts of New York it was based on, it was foreign in every way. My recent rewatch of Donnie Brasco kinda shook me, when I saw locations that mirrored ones in that game, and locations that were once foreign to me suddenly felt like revisiting a home I’ve never been to. A wildly validating experience for sure, so it’s safe to say that’s where my biases stems from. And they are definitely biases.

I’ve also wanted to argue 80s icons like Robocop, Terminator, Rambo and so on aren’t as timeless as they’re often made out to be. The movies? Absolutely. The mascots? Sorry, but I’m not buying the new MK just to reenact Alien vs Predator, I can just rewatch the mediocre movie instead (yeah once again, I’m pleasing nobody here 😆)

@Yousef- I think the main selling point of "Donnie Brasco" for me was the cast '- and in particular Pacino returning to the gangster milieu for the first time since "The Godfather" and delivering what was (as it turned out) his last performance of any real subtlety. Great stuff - but for me in a tier below the Coppola and Scorsese genre big hitters

@RR529 Forgot to comment, but it's funny how completely in sync we seem to be regarding "The monsterverse". I completely agree with all your takes on the monsterverse movies in your big summary recently. You will probably enjoy Godzilla x Kong as well; it follows Godzilla vs. Kong's lead and doubles down on the monster brawling, not bothering all that much with the distracting humans

@FuriousMachine need to see this too. I’m pretty well behind Godzilla stuff. Haven’t caught up since… 2015 😆

@Yousef- The monsterverse movies are pretty uneven, but there are bits to like in each of them. I've never been as big a fan of Kong as I have Godzilla, but in these movies I consider him the MVP The three he's in (Skull Island, Godzilla vs Kong and Godzilla x Kong) are easily my favourites in the series.

@FuriousMachine, yeah, I really enjoyed GXK when I saw it in theatres in 3D earlier this year.

I have both 4Ks of Godzilla Minus One & the Criterion release of the original '54 Godzilla on pre-order, and since they both release the same month according to Amazon, I may pick up the GXK 4K then as well just to be all caught up with my Godzilla purchases.

@RR529 I've yet to own any of those; been waiting for a "monsterverse" set that's been rumoured, but I've not paid enough attention to know if it was ever released or if it's coming or what the status is.
The Criterion Godzilla is a certain buy, but I'm very confused by all the Godzilla Minus One releases floating around there. I would like to have one where there are English (or even Norwegian) subs for the extras for my region, but details are scarce on that front. I know the international release of the original Japanese version had added English subs and a dub for the movie, but not the extras, but there were several new SKUs announced since then, so I dunno what's up with those.
Ultimately, it's only the movie with English subs that is required for me, but would be nice to have extras I could watch and understand as well

Edit: The monstervere 5-movie collection has indeed been released. Is expensive, though, so that might have to wait a while... maybe long enough to hold out for a 6-movie collection

Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie doing Wuthering Heights is the stupidest bit of casting I’ve heard in years. Cathy’s supposed to be in her late teens, which Margot Robbie demonstrably is not. Heathcliff is described as dark-skinned and they’ve cast pale boy number 12. It’s not like it’s just a ‘race swap’ either, Heathcliff’s entire character is that he’s an outsider with an air of danger which obviously in the 1800s is why he’s described as looking like a “gypsy”. Emerald Fennell is just sh*te. She’s a walking example of how class means everything in the UK, from insanely rich stock and walks into a career making the worst drivel imaginable. Her 18th birthday was literally documented by Tatler due to the aristocrats all attending.

I managed to locate a non-dubbed screening of The Wild Robot on Monday and I really liked it!
It was cliched as hell and you've seen the story played out a million times, but it was a story well told; very charming and at times quite funny (and some of the humour was edgier than I expected... the possum family's obsession with death was among my favourite bits).
The voice work was brilliant and the animation excellent. I think maybe I prefer this one to Inside Out 2, which is the only other animated film I've seen in theatres this year (and which I greatly enjoyed).

The Wild Robot comes across cliched but good nonetheless. Haven't seen it yet but will soon.

I watched Transformers One yesterday and it had no right being that good! The film worked surprisingly well and wasn't expecting it to be great since family films tend to be hit or miss.

Also I'm new to the film scene on Push Square so, Hello there!

@Hogs-of-War-General Hello there and welcome Glad to hear Transformers One delivered! It doesn't drop in my neck of the woods until October 11th, so I've still got a wee wait, but the trailer made me LOL so I'm really looking forward to it

Thanks and glad to join the discussion!

3 week delay? That's wild but I understand. I was worried about the humor based on the trailer but most of the humor works well, some is a bit elementary but that's understandable and acceptable considering the audience.

The soundtrack was great as well as the pacing and editing. The film has a lot more soul and heart than most of the films of 2024 so far.

@Hogs-of-War-General Yeah, I expect the delay is tied to when they get the dubbing done. The Wild Robot was released a bit back for TIFF, so they probably had a print early to start dubbing and get that one ready closer to the worldwide premiere date. Thankfully they only dub kids' movies, so this isn't that big a problem. Some smaller releases sometimes are held until there are gaps in the schedule, but most of the big releases hits screens on, or even a couple of days before, the US release.

Only a couple this past weekend, but both pretty amazing.

Braveheart (4K UHD Blu-Ray - Blu-Ray) - I think this may be the first time I watched the whole thing, and it ended up being a pretty great watch (granted, I'm not judging it on historical accuracy as I don't know jack about Scottish/English history). I just love the historical epics of the 90's - 00's (the Patriot, Gladiator, Troy, the Last Samurai, 300, ect), and this fits along nicely. Absolutely gorgeous scenery, brutal large scale battles, it's all here. Unfortunately my 4K copy is borked and turned into a slideshow with no sound around the 55 minute mark, but luckily I was able to finish it as it came with a regular BD copy as well which worked.

Schindler's List (4K UHD Blu-Ray) - Probably the most important film of Spielberg's filmography. I had seen parts of this in class in high school, but this was the first time I watched it in it's entirety, and man was it maybe the best film I've seen in a long time. Certainly brutal & hard to watch at many points, but essential viewing. Really underlines that the Nazi's weren't some over the top cartoon villains, their evil was cold, calculated, and played out on an industrial scale. Chilling stuff, and I absolutely started bawling when they jumped to the modern (well modern in the 90's) footage of the survivors he saved visiting his grave.

That makes sense. Have you seen Never Let Go and/or Speak No Evil? I'm curious as to what other viewers think of it.

I thought they were both made exquisitely in their own ways.

@Hogs-of-War-General I saw the original Danish/Dutch "Speak No Evil" and liked it fine, but I read that the remake was a somewhat pale imitation, so I've skipped it thus far. "Never Let Go" will probably not release theatrically here, so I'll have to wait for that to hit digital. I'm curious about it, though.

Braveheart and Schindler's List are both classics! I have both on blu ray but can only imagine how much more crisp the visuals and audio are in 4k!

Oh so there is an original for Speak No Evil? Definitely have to look into that! For Never Let Go imagine The Shining meets Frailty. Definitely worth watching in my opinion however I lean into dark, suspenseful, and horror films.

@Hogs-of-War-General Sounds interesting! Will definitely check it out when it reaches these shores.

The Substance - a tough watch fair play. I get why it’s garnering so much awards gossip and positive reviews but it’s not for the faint hearted. As a general rule I love dark and disturbing movies… and the first half of this was fascinating but as soon as the body-horror took full-effect and the psychology of the youth devouring the old, it began to make both the missus and I (and everyone in the theatre) a bit uneasy. We actually had a couple of walk outs!

Still a very well made and thought provoking commentary on Hollywoods unhealthy fascination with female youth and beauty though… and Fargeat is clearly an uber-talented director who will undoubtedly gather a cult audience in much the same way Cronenburg and Lynch did back in the 80’s. Demi Moore was brilliant… and I’ve never really thought much of her if I’m honest. Qualley plays totally against type surprisingly well as a fame-obsessed young beauty and Dennis Quaid is similarly cast as a character opposed to his usual fare… playing a Harvey Weinstein-esque TV producer and doing a good job.

If you like Cronenburg’s body horror movies… and have the stomach for a whole lot more, check it out. Particularly in a theatre, as the reactions of those around you will definitely add something to the experience.

@colonelkilgore One of my favourites of the year, this