Phantoon
I cuss you bad
That's interesting. Glad you're getting exposure to proper English
I got the impression they got taught US English in Taiwan but UK English in Vietnam based on some of the vocab I came across there.
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Movie Time 2.0: TT mini reviews
- Thread starter Rascally Badger
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I got the impression they got taught US English in Taiwan but UK English in Vietnam based on some of the vocab I came across there.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
That's interesting. Glad you're getting exposure to proper English
As is Canada Day tradition; I watched two films that put the “Oh…” in Oh Canada;
Rock & Rule is a known quantity, and my opinions on it haven’t changed; it’s good whenever there aren’t any characters on screen (except for main villain MOK, of course) and the soundtrack is great and the entire finale is top shelf, but every single character is so unlikable that I was rooting against them even though the bad guy was effectively Mick Jagger as Satan.
Heavy Metal 2000 surprised me with its quality; which isn’t to say that it was good just that I profoundly hated the original Heavy Metal and This merely wasn’t bad. Could definitely have done without the repeated implied sexual assault (the bad guy was already a mass murderer played by flippin Micheal Ironside, that’s enough to establish him as the Bad Guy). It’s a movie where every line of dialogue could be replaced by “fuck you” said in different inflections and you wouldn’t lose any of the plot.
Rock & Rule is a known quantity, and my opinions on it haven’t changed; it’s good whenever there aren’t any characters on screen (except for main villain MOK, of course) and the soundtrack is great and the entire finale is top shelf, but every single character is so unlikable that I was rooting against them even though the bad guy was effectively Mick Jagger as Satan.
Heavy Metal 2000 surprised me with its quality; which isn’t to say that it was good just that I profoundly hated the original Heavy Metal and This merely wasn’t bad. Could definitely have done without the repeated implied sexual assault (the bad guy was already a mass murderer played by flippin Micheal Ironside, that’s enough to establish him as the Bad Guy). It’s a movie where every line of dialogue could be replaced by “fuck you” said in different inflections and you wouldn’t lose any of the plot.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
I watched Brother Bear, one of the last 2D Disney animated films. It was reviewed pretty roughly so I was expecting it to be a mess but it's more like Pixar's The Good Dinosaur. Which is to say, not bad but also kind of a non-entity. Sadly, it has only one indigenous voice actor (something that for it's very glaring flaws in representation, Disney had actually seemed to be working on in Pocahontas and Mulan) but it's a descent enough story. Tonewise, though, is that it is far less funny, first by intent and then when it tries to lighten things up, it doesn't land all that well. I do appreciate there seem to be fewer animal sidekicks because I've been finding them less and less relevant or enjoyable (here there's Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis doing Bob and Doug as moose which doesn't really work but somehow it feels less intrusive than some) but there just isn't a lot of fun in this one.
I elected to celebrate American Canada Day by watching a certain film from the late eighties where the Cold War was fought not with guns and bombs, but with fists and determination, a lot of cartoonishly thick jingoism, but which people mainly remember for the robot;
Robot Joxx
For one thing; despite the fact that I think I have more money in my wallet than it had in its entire production budget; that did nothing to stop them from absolutely swinging for the fences with the visuals. None of them landed; but you could tell they had really high hopes.
Second; this had the exact same premise, and a few plot beats, as G Gundam, released a few years later.
The guy playing the evil Russian Robotjox Alexander had so much fun playing a bad guy. Threw at least five times as many vowels into every word he spoke, and laughed evilly with every line.
The fashion of this nuclear robot Bloodsport driven future is on point
Robot Joxx
For one thing; despite the fact that I think I have more money in my wallet than it had in its entire production budget; that did nothing to stop them from absolutely swinging for the fences with the visuals. None of them landed; but you could tell they had really high hopes.
Second; this had the exact same premise, and a few plot beats, as G Gundam, released a few years later.
The guy playing the evil Russian Robotjox Alexander had so much fun playing a bad guy. Threw at least five times as many vowels into every word he spoke, and laughed evilly with every line.
The fashion of this nuclear robot Bloodsport driven future is on point
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
All Night Long is part of Criterions selection of British noir but don't expect a detective movie. Instead, it's a retelling of Othello in the Jazz world with the role of Iago is played by Patrick McGoohan. Paul Harris is not an actor I was familiar with but he's really good as the Othello figure Aurelius Rex (which is a great name) but it's really about McGoohan as a completely compelling creep. Race is a part of this film and I'm not sure how much is meant to be commentary but it still works in this film about the world of jazz where there's basically only one notable black musician (a lot of famous jazz performers appear in the film but they are the white ones). It's a great film as the film's Iago plays these characters who love and respect each other using their insecurities and paranoias against them. The film does change the ending of the original text but it really does work; in fact no one dies but this decision doesn't feel like a betrayal of the text but something right for this version of the story.
I watched Art School Confidential last night. I wasn't planning on watching the whole movie, but it hooked me enough to watch it start to finish.
Art School Confidential is the lesser known Dan Clowes film adaption after Ghost World. Its basically a satire of art school. There is some good stuff in the movie. Among my favorite bits: In general terrible art is fawned over. There is an undercover cop whose juvenile paintings are picked as the best art in the class. The professor, played by John Malkovich, paints simple triangles and tells his student it took him 25 years to find his artistic voice. And that he was among the first to paint triangles.
I think this movie needed a script revisions to tighten it up. I enjoy it, but it feels like it could be leaner and meaner (which sounds odd; I find most of Clowes humor to be pretty dark).
1/2
Art School Confidential is the lesser known Dan Clowes film adaption after Ghost World. Its basically a satire of art school. There is some good stuff in the movie. Among my favorite bits: In general terrible art is fawned over. There is an undercover cop whose juvenile paintings are picked as the best art in the class. The professor, played by John Malkovich, paints simple triangles and tells his student it took him 25 years to find his artistic voice. And that he was among the first to paint triangles.
I think this movie needed a script revisions to tighten it up. I enjoy it, but it feels like it could be leaner and meaner (which sounds odd; I find most of Clowes humor to be pretty dark).
1/2
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
The Little Mermaid is a film I haven't seen in a while. It's a good movie and I think I'm impressed that there's elements from old Disney that is bridged into this new movie that would start a trend. One thing I noticed: all the animal sidekicks had some sort of role, mostly. Like, Flounder isn't a deeply nuanced character but I feel like Ariel cares about him, unlike Mulan's lucky cricket which... did she even notice it existed? A lot of the animal sidekicks would be more just business to happen while an exposition scene or musical number was happening. This is better.
I will also say I remember Ariel looking very looking pretty and having a set of expressions that was all about her being pretty but while I think the animators are maximizing that, there is also a lot of fun with the character, giving her some sillier business at times. Overall, I wasn't particularly excited about revisiting it but I really enjoyed it.
I will also say I remember Ariel looking very looking pretty and having a set of expressions that was all about her being pretty but while I think the animators are maximizing that, there is also a lot of fun with the character, giving her some sillier business at times. Overall, I wasn't particularly excited about revisiting it but I really enjoyed it.
The Prestige remains a very good movie, but also a movie told nonlinearly and with a lot of AHA twists so I had a hard time following it and playing a fun video game.
In theory that’s my fault, but I wish to blame Mr. Nolan for not directing a film that adheres to my preferred movie watching experience.
In theory that’s my fault, but I wish to blame Mr. Nolan for not directing a film that adheres to my preferred movie watching experience.
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jpfriction
(He, Him)
The illusionist is better in that regard, you’ll just miss Ed Norton doing crazy shit with an orange or whatever.
I love when Andy Serkis appears as a person, because no one recognizes him.
The Matrix Resurrections certainly was a Matrix movie, with a heaping helping of self-meta-commentary replacing the reality. It kept my attention throughout most of it, and I liked that the resolution had that this newly-reconstituted Trinity was also a The One in the new Matrix; much better than being just The Love Interest. The action didn't really even live up to the original Matrix movies though; its set pieces just didn't really have anything as memorable or interesting. Overall, I'd put it slightly better than the third movie, maybe on par with the second movie?
Yeah, that seems about right. What I liked most about it was that it actually resolved the story of the trilogy rather than leaving it open for the MMO COMING SOON!!
Went to see Mission: Impossible: You Can't Do This Mission last night, and went home a little disappointed! It certainly had its moments and a few very fun sequences, but of the MI films, I would call this "the worst of the good ones," those being everything from 3 onward. Still good! But.
Despite all of the above complaints, I'm still generally looking forward to Part 2.
I guess my biggest complaint, and maybe this is more on me than on the movie, is that I was expecting an absolutely bananas cliffhanger ending that would leave me desperate to see how it gets resolved in Part 2. Some of the most memorable "Part 1"s in history (The Best of Both Worlds, Infinity War, etc.) have ended with the heroes in a dire straits with no apparent way out. There's nothing of the sort here, and the movie ends on kind of a flat note. "Good work, team. But the real mission is just beginning...!" Bleh. Just seems like a wasted opportunity.
Also was not impressed with Esai Morales' portrayal of Gabriel. They talk him up like he's the personification of Death itself but in practice he doesn't have much screen presence, or at least he didn't for me. I assume this will be covered more in Part 2, but I would have appreciated more detail about Ethan's past with him so we know what his deal is and to put more tension behind Ethan's struggle over whether to kill or spare him. Also, if Gabriel's working for the Entity, shouldn't he want to destroy the key to make sure that no one can control it? Is he planning to double-cross the Entity? Shouldn't it know that?
I was surprised that Grace still trusted Kittridge at the end, after he was revealed to be the buyer on the train. Maybe I shouldn't have been? Won't her first assignment in the IMF be "okay, go kill Ethan Hunt"? Maybe Ethan's counting on that. I don't know.
Things I did like: the frenetic ridiculousness of the chase through Rome in the little yellow mini cooper, Pom Klementieff's unhinged performance as the main henchman, the Entity taking over the team's comms and impersonating Benji to give Ethan fake directions, and the train sequence at the end.
Also was not impressed with Esai Morales' portrayal of Gabriel. They talk him up like he's the personification of Death itself but in practice he doesn't have much screen presence, or at least he didn't for me. I assume this will be covered more in Part 2, but I would have appreciated more detail about Ethan's past with him so we know what his deal is and to put more tension behind Ethan's struggle over whether to kill or spare him. Also, if Gabriel's working for the Entity, shouldn't he want to destroy the key to make sure that no one can control it? Is he planning to double-cross the Entity? Shouldn't it know that?
I was surprised that Grace still trusted Kittridge at the end, after he was revealed to be the buyer on the train. Maybe I shouldn't have been? Won't her first assignment in the IMF be "okay, go kill Ethan Hunt"? Maybe Ethan's counting on that. I don't know.
Things I did like: the frenetic ridiculousness of the chase through Rome in the little yellow mini cooper, Pom Klementieff's unhinged performance as the main henchman, the Entity taking over the team's comms and impersonating Benji to give Ethan fake directions, and the train sequence at the end.
Despite all of the above complaints, I'm still generally looking forward to Part 2.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Re-watched House last night. The Greatest American Hero one, not the Barfing Blood Cat one. As 80s horror comedies go, it's not top tier but it's still strong. Steve Miner is clearly trying to make a Joe Dante-esque film and while as a story it doesn't all hold together, as a fun ride it mostly works. Having George Wendt in it always helps and William Katt works well in the protagonist role (I think for a horror comedy, your lead needs to have a face with character).
It’s really hard to go wrong with a chase through a European city in a Mini Cooper.
Purple
(She/Her)
I don't remember the details, but I think the writer (writer/director for House 2) actually was inspired to make the thing by a conversation with Joe Dante in the first place. Possibly with the plan that he'd direct it? I think it comes up in the DVD commentaries but that's more research than I have time for just now.
It's also interesting how clearly this influenced Evil Dead 2 a year later. Enough so that people who can't do math right call this one a knock-off now and then. And then there's Dr. Chaos which... MUST have had the license and lost it, right?
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they don't do a chase in a Mini Cooper.
Its a little yellow Fiat.
Mini's in Bourne Identity. Not a Cooper I think, but I don't know the brand well.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
They are just wheeled boxes. C- innovation
zonetrope
(he/him)
Two motorcycles with a little house in the middle?!!
Even better. That’s what Lupin III used.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Pool of London is a good little British noir that balances the tragedy of a black sailor struggling to find connections in 1950s London while his friend gets over his head and realizes he's unintentionally risked his friend's life with a new smuggling venture. I will say as much as I wanted to have one of the co-leads have a happy ending considering what he goes through, I was bracing for something a little more nihilist. It's interesting that director Basil Deardon did this and All Night Long (his reimagining of Othello), films that feel like they are heading for big tragedies for the black co-leads who seem headed for disaster and then backs off. I feel like it's almost like he can't bring himself to lower the boom after everything and gives them the chance to move on.
Weirdly, I also recently saw another Othello adaptation in Switchblade Sisters, about a violent girl gang where the right hand lady starts turning the leader against a more competent and thoughtful (but no less fierce) new charge. As 70s exploitation cinema goes, it has problematic stuff but it also makes for a great movie overall, with cool characters (and outfits).
Weirdly, I also recently saw another Othello adaptation in Switchblade Sisters, about a violent girl gang where the right hand lady starts turning the leader against a more competent and thoughtful (but no less fierce) new charge. As 70s exploitation cinema goes, it has problematic stuff but it also makes for a great movie overall, with cool characters (and outfits).
Watched Mission Impossible Fallout, and had, as expected, a Good Time at the Movies doing so.
The plot wound up getting really hard to follow but I suspect that had more to do with me watching it piecemeal over several days rather than a fault with the film itself; and the plot was kind of secondary to the movies main stated goal; to break things up every ten minutes or so with an action setpiece where, even though the film came out five years ago and it’s sequel is in theaters now, I was certain Tom Cruise was about to IRL die.
This is also the Mission Impossible movie where Superman reloads his fists.
The plot wound up getting really hard to follow but I suspect that had more to do with me watching it piecemeal over several days rather than a fault with the film itself; and the plot was kind of secondary to the movies main stated goal; to break things up every ten minutes or so with an action setpiece where, even though the film came out five years ago and it’s sequel is in theaters now, I was certain Tom Cruise was about to IRL die.
This is also the Mission Impossible movie where Superman reloads his fists.
