Films

Tanmann wrote:In a strange way I kind of liked the rushed and patchy element of the first Neverending Story, because in an odd way, it made it feel a bit like a Classic Doctor Who episode and like it was chasing some high-art aspirations.

However these days I tend to think it'd be nice if someone actually had a go at remaking the first film and actually going full hog by making it an adaptation of the whole book, including the second half of it where Bastian turns bad and Fantasia falls into civil war.

I'm pretty sure I saw II at the cinema at the time. I might give it a curious look one day.

I believe the German version of the first film is slightly longer and less choppy. I honestly don't mind the idea of a remake anymore. The second movie covers a lot from the second half of the book, but the Battle for the Ivory Tower section isn't included. I'd love to see something like that on the big screen.

I certainly think NES II is well worth a watch. 1990 was a really solid year for movies in general.

Just came back from a double bill of Joker and Rambo.

Joker was superb. Joaquin Phoenix was rather good (Nicholson is still number one in my eyes though) and the film was rather well made with an interesting story and take on the character. 4/5.

Last Blood was pretty good and it was one of the better sequels (as well as one of the better recent Stallone flicks) in the series. 3/5.

Mercury wrote:Last Blood was pretty good and it was one of the better sequels (as well as one of the better recent Stallone flicks) in the series. 3/5.

I much prefer it to III and Rambo (why couldn't they have called it Rambo IV?). The version of the film we got in cinemas is actually much shorter than versions shown in other countries. We missed eleven minutes of footage!

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
A perfect way to end off the Series. No more loose ends, character arcs have ended perfectly and the pacing and acting is phenomenal. It may be a slow burner, but it is completely satisfying. Thank you Vince Gilligan for creating a fantastic send off to one of my favourite shows of all time.

SomeCallMeEnglishGiraffe wrote:El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
A perfect way to end off the Series. No more loose ends, character arcs have ended perfectly and the pacing and acting is phenomenal. It may be a slow burner, but it is completely satisfying. Thank you Vince Gilligan for creating a fantastic send off to one of my favourite shows of all time.

I’ll be watching that tonight, as it happens.

When Harry Met Sally. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan are two New Yorkers determined to prove that men and women can be the best of friends without sex getting in the way. Good luck with that. Carrie Fisher and Bruno Kirby co-star in this late 80s romantic comedy that's still very funny and sweet. I have seen this once before, but it was a very long time ago (we're talking decades).

I don't usually bother going to the cinema these days as there's so seldom anything I fancy watching.

However, I've seen three films recently at the cinema that I was tempted to go and see and shock horror I enjoyed them very much indeed - must be on a roll! They were Once Upon a Time ...in Hollywood, Rambo Last Blood and The Joker

Well, my own rule for deciding whether a film is any good or not is to rate by whether or not I'd bother watching it again and also whether I'd buy it to keep for rewatching. In all three of the above cases, I'd say I definitely would, yes and yes! Erm... so they're recommended!

Starsky & Hutch (2004)

Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson star in this spoof of the brilliant 1970s buddy cop drama that whilst entertaining, still feels like something is missing and is rarely funny. Still a nice way to kill a couple of hours. 3/5.

The Lego Movie Part 2:

Whilst not as groundbreaking as the first Lego Movie (which is my favourite movie of 2014), the themes and messages are just as strong as the first one. It's also as hilariously witty and creatively funny as the first one, never losing that 'Airplane' style humour, and the animation is still as gorgeous as ever. The only problem is that I do think that the last third is a bit weaker compared to the first two acts, compared to the first movie that just flowed by smoothly. Not as good as The Lego Movie or even The Lego Batman Movie, but I still really liked it.

Ready Or Not. A young woman marrying into a wealthy family discovers that the rich really are different when, on her wedding night, her new family invite her to play a game of Hide and Seek - a game she's not expected to survive. Adam Brody and Andie MacDowell co-star in this darkly comic 2019 horror flick that's a thoroughly wicked and thoroughly entertaining ride.

It (1990)

Its been a few years since I've seen this one and to be honest, my thoughts on it haven't changed much.

The first half is good with the kid actors being surprisingly competent (Seriously, what is it with horror films having actually good child actors?) and Tim Curry being his usual entertaining self with the only downside being the annoying transitions to the adults.

The second half is however rather patchy in comparison. I don't know how but something about it just isn't as gripping as the first part and I found myself considering switching it off halfway through. The adult actors are decent (John Ritter stands out in particular) yet they are not as entertaining as the child actors. Tim Curry is still entertaining, although by this point I feel he has lost his edge. Also Olivia Hussey who was excellent in 1974's Black Christmas comes across as wooden here.

The original IT TV movie is an entertaining yet flawed piece of work and to be honest, I don't rate either adaptation higher than the other. They are both entertaining but both fail to capture the spirit or atmosphere of the book. 3/5

The Expendables 3 (2014)

Stallone delivers the goods yet again in this action-packed sequel! Barney Ross breaks ties with the gang and decides to recruit fresh blood. Unfortunately, a failed mission results in his new team being taken hostage by war criminal Mel Gibson. Ross manages to escape capture and calls upon his old team to fight by his side once again and rescue the hostages. Really satisfying movie with a lot of funny moments and well-staged set pieces. The appearance of the badass Ronda Rousey was a real bonus!

Made the mistake of trying to watch Halloween 6 on Halloween. Hadn't seen it in 23 years as I hated it at the time. Watched the Producer's Cut. Nope, still hate it. Absolutely awful on every level. From the appalling treatment of Jamie that goes beyond the usual Halloween stalk and slash into the realms of tasteless cruelty and sadism, to the simply boring new characters and the laughable "Thorn" bollocks, no amount of recutting can save this horse shit. Donald Pleasance does his best, but he's got no chance of rescuing this.
I don't know why 5 catches so much shit, it's a million times better than this garbage.

iank wrote:Made the mistake of trying to watch Halloween 6 on Halloween. Hadn't seen it in 23 years as I hated it at the time. Watched the Producer's Cut. Nope, still hate it. Absolutely awful on every level. From the appalling treatment of Jamie that goes beyond the usual Halloween stalk and slash into the realms of tasteless cruelty and sadism, to the simply boring new characters and the laughable "Thorn" bollocks, no amount of recutting can save this horse shit. Donald Pleasance does his best, but he's got no chance of rescuing this.
I don't know why 5 catches so much shit, it's a million times better than this garbage.

Personally I find both 5 and 6 to be quite poor to be honest, although I much prefer 5 as that actually has Danielle Harris and Donald Pleasance is actually pretty good. Most of the characters and performances here were pretty weak with Paul Rudd being one of the only redeeming qualities of it and Donald Pleasance deserved a much better exit than this. By the way, what are your thoughts on the Rob Zombie films and the 2018 film Ian?

The last half hour of 5 at least is pretty ace IMO.

Never saw the Zombies. Hate reboots and I've seen a couple of his others and... fuck me no.

Pretty much hated 2018 too. The series really ends at H20 to me.

The Return of Michael Myers is my personal favourite Halloween movie. Jamie Lee Curtis makes my penis too hard which makes watching any of her movies extremely difficult.

Pepsi Maxil wrote: Jamie Lee Curtis makes my penis too hard which makes watching any of her movies quite difficult to sit through.

Yeah, I had a feeling you would probably say that....

I watched The Lost Boys this evening. Absolutely amazing film! 1987 is one of the best years for movies ever.

I have Lost Boys on Blu ray but still haven't got round to watching it again yet.

I like Halloween IV a lot. But, aside from 6, I like them all up to and including H20.

Pan's Labyrinth. A very imaginative, beautiful yet disturbing film, with a sharp contract between juvenile naiveté and cruel cynicism.

The most memorable creation in the film is probably the horrific, child-eating 'Pale Man'.



Reading about the character, however, I was frustrated by a recent tweet by Guillermo del Toro, where he stated, 'The Pale Man represents all institutional evil feeding on the helpless. It's not accidental that he is a) Pale b) a Man. He's thriving now.'

https://twitter.com/realgdt/status/827065272028766208?lang=en

It's pretty clear this is a retroactive political influence. I'm fairly certain the creature, at the time, was simply a fairly visceral representation of a child predator. White and male because it's set in European Spain and because child predators are almost universally imagined as males. Hideous but in human ways: very pale, old looking with loose skin, and with a facial impression (once the eyes are posited) of an unattractive human. Basically: a stereotypical paedophile - ugly and old. Representing childhood fears and adult fears for our children.

The tweet itself is fucking stupid and I doubt I need to convince anyone here of that, but it's more frustrating seeing talented artists do their best to damage their art with thoughtless and divisive politics.

Such shameless cuntery.
Tbh, I've always thought Del Toro was kind of a hack. The only one of his films I actually enjoy is Mimic.

Jaws 19 (2015)

"This time it's really, really personal!"

This is getting a bit silly now. Most of it was just stock footage from Jaws 12: He's Behind You!

Lazy bastards. 3/10

La Bamba (1987)

Heartbreaking film. Extremely impressed with every aspect of the movie.

Pepsi Maxil wrote:Jaws 19 (2015)

"This time it's really, really personal!"

This is getting a bit silly now. Most of it was just stock footage from Jaws 12: He's Behind You!

Lazy bastards. 3/10

Worst of all, the shark still looks fake!

Indrid Mercury wrote:

Pepsi Maxil wrote:Jaws 19 (2015)

"This time it's really, really personal!"

This is getting a bit silly now. Most of it was just stock footage from Jaws 12: He's Behind You!

Lazy bastards. 3/10

Worst of all, the shark still looks fake!

Tell me about it. They didn't even try and make it look real:



Still looks better than the shark from Jaws 3, though.