Topic: The Movie Thread

@HallowMoonshadow Yep, they do, they also offer some television shows that are also free with ads. Some films on YouTube are buy or rent, but they have a decent selection of free films. The movies included in that selection do change at random times and some films get removed from their “free with ads” selection.

I really liked N.I.M.H, it’s probably one of Don Bluth’s best movies alongside All Dogs Go to Heaven.

@PorkChopExpress I agree, the free with ads movie selection is pretty good, has a lot of well-known movies alongside some more obscure ones and a couple hidden gems, and I have watched a lot of new movies on there. I especially love the anime and animated film selection on there.

Just got back from Gladiator II and it's not a bad movie; in a world where the original was never made it may even have been a classic, but it's more or less the same story remixed a little bit and brings nothing new to the table. Everyone delivers good performances and there are some great battles, but it fails to step out from the shadow of its predecessor and ultimately feels quite pointless.
I think it may have been more successful if it had focused more on the conflict between Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal's characters, but that story line is undercooked and underserved.

And funnily enough, I liked it, but I see very little reason to watch it again, when I can watch the original instead.

@FuriousMachine I heard the only real reason to see it is Denzel.
PS I think the original is massively overrated. 🤣.

@LN78 Yeah, Denzel is good, but he is very much Denzel. As is Pascal, come to think of it. The performances are good pretty much all around, with none of them being anything really special. Mescal works, but he is a bit limp when compared to Crowe's Maximus.

@FuriousMachine If I wasn't enthusiastic before I'm twice as unenthusiastic now. Apparently, Ridley is already workshopping "Gladiator 3". Sigh.

@LN78 Yup, it will probably be his next after his Alien : Covenant sequel. Double sigh

@FuriousMachine Is that a thing again? I think the last I heard was that a "Romulus" sequel was next. As if I could care less.

@LN78 It's hard to tell; 20th wants a new Alien movie following Romulus' success and they want Scott to direct it. Scott wants to do a Covenant sequel, because "it is the perfect beginning". They had announced a Romulus sequel just days prior to announcing Scott developing a new one, so you might get lucky and have two new Alien films to look forward to

Edit: Oh. My. God! "Gladiator vs. Aliens"!! I'd watch the hell out of that movie!

@FuriousMachine Plus the TV series. Get bent, Disney.

"Strange Darling" - non-sequential serial killer thriller with a couple of powerhouse performances from the two leads. I guessed the twist pretty early but still enjoyed it immensely.

@LN78 @FuriousMachine hey just watched Romulus a few nights ago. I enjoyed it. Of course I basically went in with the lowest expectations possible so it'd been hard to disappoint me but I came away fairly impressed all in all. I absolutely hated THAT line but other than that I thought it was an original enough remix of Alien, Aliens, and Resurrection.

And as just a horror movie it worked really well.

@zupertramp Nah - it was absolutely shocking. It's completely impossible to reconcile the events of "Aliens" in a timeline where "Romulus" took place. Plus we're supposed to believe that Weyland/Yutani just misplaced or abandoned an entire spacestation where potentially species altering research was taking place? Get bent, Disney.

@zupertramp I enjoyed it, too. There were a not insignificant number of issues with it, most notably the completely unnecessary inclusion of Ash, but, agreed, it works as a horror movie with some nice, tense moments and characters that were worth rooting for.

@FuriousMachine Supposedly the reason it was Ash and not a Bishop or a David style android is because FOX (and therefore Disney) already owned Ian Holm's likeness rights. One of the most insulting franchise movies I've ever seen and I've seen most of them.

I watched Jonathan Demme's often overlooked 1986 offbeat romantic comedy "Something Wild" starring Melanie Griffith, Jeff Daniels and a hyper-intense pre "Goodfellas" Ray Liotta. Excellent in every department but particularly the soundtrack. Every needle drop is a banger. Demme was a seriously talented bloke.

@LN78 That is some next level cold hearted cynical cr@p, even for Disney. I see no reason why the android couldn't have been an original design, as far as I know, there's nothing in the lore that precludes one from existing?

@FuriousMachine Well that's the thing isn't it? Why include Ash? Why include pulse rifles? Why include "get away from her you b**ch"? I see no reason why the entire script couldn't have been an original design, mate. Too much like hard work, probably.

@LN78 I didn't mind the pulse rifles, but the inclusion of that line was full cringe. Clearly executives and/or Scott meddling, wanting callbacks all over the place, whether they worked or not. Alvarez proved he could make a sequel honoring the original without filling it to the brim with heavy handed callbacks with his "Evil Dead", so here I suspect he caved to outside pressure.

@FuriousMachine The pulse rifles that could hold 400+ rounds in a single magazine? What were they firing? Paperclips? 🤣. Studio meddling didn't dictate that Alvarez make a sequel that destroys the narrative cohesion of the entire timeline did it? I'm going to have a nice lie down. Discussing this travesty of a film messes with my karma.

@LN78 @FuriousMachine Oh man I completely forgot about Ash. So yeah, more points off for that especially since the FX were just soo poorly done. A generic design would have been just fine.

But I'm confused as it's been awhile, where does this film run up against the timeline of the rest of the franchise?

EDIT: Still think this was better than covenant or prometheus personally. So idk, again, maybe it was the abysmally low expectations.