I, Robot (2004). 8/10 Haven't seen the movie in a while. Was fairly ambivalent the first time I saw it. Last night I watched it and really enjoyed it. Was it my own prejudices about some of the changes that caused mixed feelings when it came out? I don't know. Maybe I'm just growing up (though I doubt that). Now I think it's a great movie. Would Isaac Asimov have liked it? I don't know. But I like to think so.
Shin Godzilla. Not sure if I really cared for it. The Godzilla bits were good, but watching a bunch of people sit around tables and strategize got dull. The Godzilla design was incredibly freaky and unnerving (why was he growing a head on his tail?).
Bladerunner 2049 over the weekend... in IMAX. pretentious crap. it was just a series of scenes with nothing happening for the first hour with gosling being all emo and broody. The big bad showed up around the half way time just to establish "hey, I'm evil!" before disappearing again. The outdoor scenes were lovely and it came with an impressive score... but the movie itself lacked tension with long periods of silence or nothing happening just for a random pop of "emotion" to come out of nowhere and for no reason. after that happened a few times I actually started to find it hilarious. The last 40 minutes with Ford were good but by then I stopped caring, the plot was way too up it's own ass to be enjoyable.
Wonder Woman and I loved it. I really wasn't expecting it to be so good. Now I'm waiting for it to come out on HBO so I can watch it again. I might even record it and keep it on my DVR.
Wonder Woman, picked it up on Vudu when it dropped, finally got a chance to watch. I liked the movie. A Nice and tight story, with a good eye for scenes. The character interactions were well done with some very interesting story arcs. The end, however, kind of dropped the ball. For me, it degenerated into the typical superhero fistfight at the end...after having had all that wonderful buildup into being not just another superhero movie. Oh well, guess they wanted a money shot ending. Asimov would have loathed the movie. While it got some of its story from Asimov's robot series, more of it seemed to be from The Humanoids by Jack Williamson. In the Humanoids, the inevitable end result of the laws of robotics was humanity being kept as virtual pets, in the care of robots who wouldn't allow them to do anything that might lead to harm. When I was younger, I liked the Asimov robots series, however, after reading some of the things by Williamson and others in that vein, I was less in love with Asimov. Deep at its core, his stories are very fascist, with, the robots being created as perfectly leashed slaves for the humans and humanity needing a strong hand to keep it on a leash. His Foundation stories completely wallow in fascism, which is all right as long as it's a dictatorship of the benign scientifical types, or people just like Asimov. So, to my way of thinking, I Robot was a more realistic and hard view of Asimov and his robots, and something he would completely loath since it exposed a little too much of the dark underbelly of his stories. I think, in a way, becoming an RPG player and also a GM has ruined me for so many stories. I can't just look at these without analyzing, picking things apart and extrapolating future trends and history. This is one of those things I get curious about, do other people look at things and see them as parts of a system, deduce their effects on that system and project it into a future possibility?
Three Bilboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) 8/10. Watched Three Billboards last night and... Wow. I don't even know where to start. One of the most fascinating, riveting movies I've ever seen. Everything clicks, from the writing, casting and acting to the directing and the editing. I loved it. I laughed out loud and winced and gasped and silently mouthed, "Holy S..." too many times to count. Not everyone will like it, but I am willing to bet that if you like it you won't just like it - you'll love it.
Marshall (2017) 8/10. No real surprises here. It's a good bio film done by the numbers but in this case that's not a negative. No real surprises or twists but this film was never intended to be a mystery/drama/thriller. It was intended to pay homage to one of the most influential and iconic men who ever lived and it succeeds admirably in that purpose. In a story as old as time what really stands out are the characters and the actors who portray them and the director who guides them. All do a fantastic job and while the story inevitably seemed somewhat predictable, I was never bored. Instead I was fascinated by the man himself, Thurgood Marshall, and the drive and purpose he displayed. I can pay no greater respect to him than to say that if ever there was a man who reminded me of Nelson Mandela it was Thurgood Marshall.
I just saw Coco and it was extremely enjoyable, despite the embarrassment of being a grown man with no children watching a cartoon and trying not to cry in the theater. But GOOD tears.
Just re-watched Logan at home last night. Saw it in the theater last year and loved it. Probably one of my favorite super hero movies.
I saw the disaster artist... Ok backstory, for you normal humans there is something called a bad movie. Then there is The Room. the stuff of legends. a movie so bad you'll just sit there mesmerized. It's a movie beyond description. All the little decisions that went into it will boggle your brain forever. The disaster artist is taken from an actual book regarding the making of the Infamous (The Room). If follows this weirdo Who wrote, directed, produced and starred in the room... and yes that right there is the promotional poster for the movie... which is a slice of life... be afraid people! The Thing is the Infamous Tommy Wiseau is actually stranger in life then the movie ever gave him credit for. They had to cut so much out of the book because... well how can you fit all that weirdness in just two hours. If you've never seen the room grab your hubby, a bowl of popcorn and water (because you will choke!) and just have a good bad movies night. This guy might actually be an alien. That is a real possibility. Cringe factor is 11/10 Fun factor trainwreck/10 visuals I did naaaaaht /10 Also here is the most famous clip from that movie, it's when Tommy finds out his GF has been spreading rumors about but him behind his back. talk about whip lash!
I saw it with the whole family and whenever there's a quiet moment I could hear the whole audience sniffling! I was sitting next to a four-year-old, who was probably the only one who wasn't crying, since I don't think she even understood what the movie was about.
I can't stand Franco, so I actively try to avoid his movies. Think I might have been replaced by a lich, because Coco did absolutely nothing for me except made me wish that they got Rodrigo y Gabriela to do the soundtrack. Gotta confess, the last few Pixar movies all left me feeling 'meh'. Really looking forward to The Incredibles though.
I think Coco really got to me because last year one of my best friends and inspiration suffered a series of strokes and passed away at only 65 - it hit just a little too close to emotional wounds that haven't healed.
Last movie I saw in the theater was The Last Jedi. While it had its moments, overall the movie was a disappointment. It seems viewers either really like it or don't, with little middle ground.
Last movie we watched? When Kari and I were at her parent's place for the holiday, we caught The Court Jester starring the incredible Danny Kaye. It's one of my favorite movies.
I agree. I really wanted to like it, but it seemed like they just threw everything together so it was all over the place and lacked a central direction. For example, if they're going to have Luke come out to save the day like that at the end, they need to... sorta build up Luke's arc first to make that feel satisfying. Same goes for everyone else's. The pacing, the editing, the direction also seemed 'off' to me for some reason. And the kicker is that it had so much potential. It could have been great, with a better build-up, with just a few more lines of dialogues and quiet shots of characters looking pensive.
Molly's Game (2017) 8/10. I really liked it, but I've been an Aaron Sorkin fan for years. I understand some people feel Sorkin was a bit too clinical in his directorial debut and that Chastain's character came across as a bit too cold, but I was too fascinated by the story to let that bother me and (Sorkin being Sorkin) the pace and dialogue are so snappy that the movie's two hours go past in a flash.
