Movies

[al kusanagi]

Just got back from the Cornetto Trilogy. The World's End was so damn good! Hot Fuzz is still my favorite of the three, but TWE was damn close.
 
Also saw Kick Ass 2. I don't even think they opened the comic for this one. The first one was about 80% comic and 20% changes, but this one was 80% changes and 20% comic. Hell, the Kick Ass 3 comic is in stores now, but the movie changed things so much that there absolutely cannot be a movie sequel that has anything to do with the new comic. Still, I wish I was a teenage girl so I could be totally gay for Chloe Grace Moretz.

[aine]

<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1549920/">[b]The Last Stand[/b]</a> - I don't understand why this movie was so shat upon. It was pure blissful action enjoyment. It was Arnie's first big role after the Governator hiatus. WTF is wrong with people. Not only did it deliver the usual joys that Arnie's action movies deliver, but it had more of that with Arnie's character actually having more developed personality and showing a bit of human feelings and weaknesses. And IMO he did a great job at that. I would LOVE to see him become more melancholic and contemplative the way Clint Eastwood did. Anyway, great action movie, would watch again.

<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0365376/">[b]A Tale of Two Sisters[/b]</a> - by the same director, Kim Ji-woon. Just thought I would re-watch it out of curiosity. I could not remember much from seeing it once a few years ago. It was still visually beautiful, subtle, and totally tangled up from halfway onwards. I got the general sequence of event, but for details I had to look up a plot summary, which itself was pretty speculative. So I guess it was a somewhat flawed experience. Also Strawberry spent half the movie hiding herself under a blanket and I had to narrate what was going on and I'm not sure whether it added to or detracted from enjoying it.



<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="aine" data-cid="131993" data-time="1345046242"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1410063/">[b]The Flowers of War[/b]</a> - Historical drama, a take on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_of_Nanjing">Rape of Nanjing</a>. Zhang Yimou does a good job tackling this difficult and emotional subject, with epicness that's not a first for him (Hero, House of Flying Daggers). Christian Bale also shines in this unusual for a top-billed western star setting.

If you don't know about the subject then I'd recommend you watching it all the more, because it deserves to be known. The movie isn't perfect, suffering from some black-and-white characterizations and every now and then unnecessary sappiness typical for Asian TV dramas, but it's still probably the most approachable for Western audiences treatment of it. It's a shame that it didn't get a wider release, becoming a box office hit in China only. For obvious reasons I can't imagine it being popular in Japan, however it could become an important lesson, sitting right next to the Schindler's List or The Pianist, for the West often convinced that WW2 was limited to Europe only.</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R3NR8HQKHX ... XUVHU">WTF this Amazon review and discussion under it.</a>

[Ap2000]

[quote="aine"]Christian Bale also shines in this unusual for a top-billed western star setting
 
[/quote]
 

Christian Bale has been in several exceptional roles, like in The Machinist, American Psycho and Equilibrium.
 
I stopped reading the Amazon thread halfway through the first page.
It seems that none of the combatants is capable of forming coherent and clear English sentences, so there's a lot of misunderstanding.

[Madara]

[quote="aine"]
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1549920/">[b]The Last Stand[/b]</a> - I don't understand why this movie was so shat upon. It was pure blissful action enjoyment. It was Arnie's first big role after the Governator hiatus. WTF is wrong with people. Not only did it deliver the usual joys that Arnie's action movies deliver, but it had more of that with Arnie's character actually having more developed personality and showing a bit of human feelings and weaknesses. And IMO he did a great job at that. I would LOVE to see him become more melancholic and contemplative the way Clint Eastwood did. Anyway, great action movie, would watch again.

<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0365376/">[b]A Tale of Two Sisters[/b]</a> - by the same director, Kim Ji-woon. Just thought I would re-watch it out of curiosity. I could not remember much from seeing it once a few years ago. It was still visually beautiful, subtle, and totally tangled up from halfway onwards. I got the general sequence of event, but for details I had to look up a plot summary, which itself was pretty speculative. So I guess it was a somewhat flawed experience. Also Strawberry spent half the movie hiding herself under a blanket and I had to narrate what was going on and I'm not sure whether it added to or detracted from enjoying it.




<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="aine" data-cid="131993" data-time="1345046242">
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1410063/">[b]The Flowers of War[/b]</a> - Historical drama, a take on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_of_Nanjing">Rape of Nanjing</a>. Zhang Yimou does a good job tackling this difficult and emotional subject, with epicness that's not a first for him (Hero, House of Flying Daggers). Christian Bale also shines in this unusual for a top-billed western star setting.


If you don't know about the subject then I'd recommend you watching it all the more, because it deserves to be known. The movie isn't perfect, suffering from some black-and-white characterizations and every now and then unnecessary sappiness typical for Asian TV dramas, but it's still probably the most approachable for Western audiences treatment of it. It's a shame that it didn't get a wider release, becoming a box office hit in China only. For obvious reasons I can't imagine it being popular in Japan, however it could become an important lesson, sitting right next to the Schindler's List or The Pianist, for the West often convinced that WW2 was limited to Europe only.
</blockquote>

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R3NR8HQKHX ... XUVHU">WTF this Amazon review and discussion under it.</a>
 
[/quote]
 
Recommendation to the readers of this thread: read "The Rape of Nanking," by Iris Chang (who later killed herself while writing a follow-up book, only the latest casualty of Japanese aggression during the war).

[Ap2000]

[quote="Madara"]
 
Recommendation to the readers of this thread: read "The Rape of Nanking," by Iris Chang (who later killed herself while writing a follow-up book, only the latest casualty of Japanese aggression during the war).
[/quote]
 
 
That book should not be recommended at all. At least not uncritically and without a "counter-weight":
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rape_o ... iticism</a>
 
The good thing about the book is that it made the massacre more well known in the west.
But it's selling theories as factual evidence and is very stereotypical of Japanese, basically saying all Japanese, even today, are just bloodlusty savages.
 
As the wikipedia article cites: "Chang was also criticized by both Japanese "ultranationalists", who believe that the massacre in Nanjing never took place, and Japanese liberals, who "insist the massacre happened but allege that Chang's flawed scholarship damages their cause".
 
The only way to fully understand the discourse of the Nanking massacre is by reading different sources and checking facts for yourself.
 
 
EDIT:

If you want to read up on some more well documented war attrocities of the Japanese, read about the Kwantung Army.

[Melon]

Is it hard to do a podcast or film movie reviews, I wonder? I want to do a show like HiTB or SF Debris~ I want to do a lot of things. Maybe I should work on my hot girls kicking monster ass script. I bet I could get Syfy to produce it if I make them zombie sharks! :D

I kinda have a rant? Or maybe a discussion about genre work in general?

For me, movies are either 1. Genre I like or 2. Genre I don't like. If it's a genre I like, I expect certain things from it and if they're fulfilled I am happy. For instance, in martial arts films, I don't give a fuck about the plot. What's the plot? "Bitch fucked my shit up and now I have to kick his ass!" Sometimes the plot isn't that and we get something cool like Shaolin Soccer, but as a whole, for martial arts films I watch them to see some great action scenes and if I get them I'm satisfied and the rating of the movie is directly proportional to how great the action setpieces were.

If I don't like the genre, I tend to be more critical and judge the movie based on what it purports to be. I can see for something like Pacific Rim, if you're not a fan of Godzilla or mecha anime how you would not enjoy it as much as me. The more "serious" a film plays itself to be, the more likely I will be extra critical of it. In Avengers, the entire point was to see the superheroes get together and kick some butt. In Batman, Nolan wanted a gritty realistic take on Batman and attempted commentary on society through the villians and character arc of Batman and Gotham. Since Nolan's world was more serious than Avengers, I judged it more harshly and was less forgiving of its faults.

How does everyone else review movies? I've been called hyper-critical of movies in general, but I don't think I'm that bad.


tl;dr version
I hold movies up to the standards it sets for itself (unless I love the genre) and if it fulfills them, it's a good movie and if it doesn't then it's crap.

I know we have several members that work or have done production of media before, does this professional perspective make you appreciate or notice things that the normal movie-goer would not? And does it heighten or dampen your enjoyment?

[Ap2000]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Petit Melon" data-cid="161787" data-time="1377886388">Is it hard to do a podcast or film movie reviews, I wonder? I want to do a show like HiTB or SF Debris~</blockquote>
Half in the bag is great, but they probably take a lot of time to do.
A netcast is easy, just record yourself and upload it somewhere. Make a blog of some kind to go along with it.
That is, if you think the internet needs another movie review site/person.

[Madara]

Speaking of movie blogs, in my latest film blog entry I write about a trip to the bad ol' days of New York's 42nd Street movie theaters ("the Deuce") when I saw SHAFT, the first "blaxploitation" movie, with a couple of friends from the Bronx:
 
<a href="http://briandanacamp.wordpress.com/2013 ... re-1375</a>
<img height="281" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5337/9577 ... 5d600e.jpg" width="500" alt="9577482340_74165d600e.jpg">
(In this shot, Shaft passes my old high school, the "Fame" school, the brown stone building just behind him and to the left of the shot. I was a student there when they filmed this scene.)
 

[Anderei]

You guys like Pacific Rim, right? <a href="http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/81 ... l">Charlie Hunnam is playing Christian Grey in the 50 Shades of Grey movie.</a>
 
RIP any respect his career has gained him thus far.

[Melon]

I hope he gets a big payout. RIP career.
 
Haven't these actors learned that once you're associated with a project like that you can't ever ever erase the stigma of it?
smh
 
whoa whoa, they're going for a PG-13 rating? Without the sex you're stuck with that... I can't call it plot, it would be insulting to plots.

[Anderei]

Right? Like, I don't know what this movie can even be if it's PG-13.

[yuzuriha]

[quote="Anderei"]
You guys like Pacific Rim, right? <a href="http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/81 ... l">Charlie Hunnam is playing Christian Grey in the 50 Shades of Grey movie.</a>
 
RIP any respect his career has gained him thus far.
[/quote]
 

Gross.  Should have been Ian Somerhalder.
 
And an NC-17 rating.

[Anderei]

Word is Ian was too expensive, but he probably begged for the role and just didn't get it.

[yuzuriha]

Well he will always be Christian Grey in my mind.

[Ap2000]

[quote="yuzuriha"]
Well he will always be Christian Grey in my mind.
[/quote]
 
<a href="http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Boone_Carlyle">Boone Carlyle</a> - professional wincest dreamer, but never achiever. RIP.
 

[yuzuriha]

I was thinking more Paul Denton, Rules of Attraction.
 
I have a hard on for guys in Bret Easton Ellis movies.

[Ap2000]

[quote="yuzuriha"]
I was thinking more Paul Denton, Rules of Attraction.
 
I have a hard on for guys in Bret Easton Ellis movies.
[/quote]
 

I never knew you were into the <a href="http://de.deusex.wikia.com/wiki/Paul_Denton">anonymous gangbanger of the 21st century</a> !

[yuzuriha]

SINCE I CAN READ GERMAN THAT MAKES SENSE TO ME

[Ap2000]

[quote="yuzuriha"]
SINCE I CAN READ GERMAN THAT MAKES SENSE TO ME
[/quote]
 

The title of the wiki pretty much gives it away he's a character in the game Deus Ex. =P

[yuzuriha]

Yeah, I did get that part, I just thought it was funny you linked a German article in the first place.

[Shoujo Q]

[quote="Anderei"]
You guys like Pacific Rim, right? <a href="http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/81 ... l">Charlie Hunnam is playing Christian Grey in the 50 Shades of Grey movie.</a>
 
RIP any respect his career has gained him thus far.
[/quote]
 

I can't wait for the reviews. Someone should MST3000 that thing if it ever makes it out into the great big cinema and flops like I belive it will. If the script writers actually make the movie work, they deserve and oscar though. Because, miracles!

[Ap2000]

[quote="yuzuriha"]
Yeah, I did get that part, I just thought it was funny you linked a German article in the first place.
[/quote]
 
 
Sorry, didn't realize that. hah

[showraniy]

I FINALLY SAW GRAVITY TODAY. FINALLY. I'M SO HAPPY!
 
It was as good as everyone hyped it up to be and more.
 
I cried a lot, which surprised me every time because I was honestly just feeling, not thinking.

[Madara]

Article about Miyazaki's latest, THE WIND RISES, in today's New York Times:
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/06/movies/hayao-miyazakis-film-the-wind-rises-gets-complaints.html?ref=todayspaper

[Ap2000]

Saw The world's end, and eventhough I've enjoyed it and it was definitely worthwhile, I can't help but thinking I wanted it to be funnier.
It has to do with my expectation of it being as funny as Shaun and Hot fuzz, which it actually didn't want to be.
What really struck me as impressive was the ending. Hopefully there's going to be a sequel of some kind and out of the trilogy, this is the only one that I see could really have potential for a good sequel.
 
On the other hand, this article has a very interesting view on it:
http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/opinions/how-the-worlds-end-is-a-commentary-on-sequels-remakes-and-reboots.php

[neshcom]

^ I liked the movie, but I couldn't see a sequel. I hadn't seen a commercial or anything before I saw it, so it was a little bit of a trip going in blind.


A few weeks ago, I saw Bad Grandpa and it was hilarious. I usually don't like the cringy stunt stuff, but it was just nonstop funny scenarios.


I also saw Thor last week. Hadn't seen the first, but it was enthralling. Sci-Fantasy is a bizarre setting, but it was a lot of fun. Loki is such a good character.

[cadmonkey]

I saw The Wind Rises last week.  Going into the movie, I didn't think I would care much about the fact that this guy designed a killing machine, but throughout the movie the only thing I could think about was how this guy would go on to design a killing machine.  They did try to show him as a dreamer who wanted to build innovative aircraft, and seemed to be a victim of his time because the only aircraft design at the time was devoted to the military, but then (probably not a spoiler, but I'll block it out anyways) he talks to one of his colleagues and asks him which countries will be bombed by the plane he's designing, and the friend goes on to list several countries without a hint of remorse.
 
Oh, and then I got home and found out that most of the movie is just a fictionalized biography of the man, and wondered what the point of the whole movie was.  At least the animation was what one would expect from a Studio Ghibli film.

[Madara]

[quote="cadmonkey"]
I saw The Wind Rises last week.  Going into the movie, I didn't think I would care much about the fact that this guy designed a killing machine, but throughout the movie the only thing I could think about was how this guy would go on to design a killing machine.  They did try to show him as a dreamer who wanted to build innovative aircraft, and seemed to be a victim of his time because the only aircraft design at the time was devoted to the military, but then (probably not a spoiler, but I'll block it out anyways) he talks to one of his colleagues and asks him which countries will be bombed by the plane he's designing, and the friend goes on to list several countries without a hint of remorse.
 
Oh, and then I got home and found out that most of the movie is just a fictionalized biography of the man, and wondered what the point of the whole movie was.  At least the animation was what one would expect from a Studio Ghibli film.
[/quote]
 
Interesting take on the film, thanks. I hadn't heard about the part you blocked. No one seems to have talked about it in any of the reviews/articles I read and it strikes me as pretty significant.
 
I tried to see the film last week when it played in one theater in New York for a week only. Disney picked the most out-of-the-way theater in Manhattan they could find, one that's small and cramped, and gave it inconvenient screening times. I tried twice to see it but got there too late the first time (the last of the four trains I needed to get me there was late) and it was sold out the second. I'm more than a little pissed at Disney.

[Ap2000]

[quote="neshcom"]
^ I liked the movie, but I couldn't see a sequel.
[/quote]
 

But I want to see the adventures of my new favourite Brit-rock band, Gary and the blanks !

[yuzuriha]

We watched "This is the End" last night.  It was pretty funny, albeit corny.  I ALMOST hated the ending though, but it redeemed itself at the last second.