Thoughts On The Last Movie You've Seen

[Leftist Bastard]

Assassin's Creed is such a frustrating watch for me; both as a movie goer and as a massive fan of the games. All the pieces in place, with an amazing cast, a great setting and premise, and a talented director [same guy behind Macbeth] but as par the course for a video game movie, the script is terrible.

 

Enter Callum Lynch, played by none other than the talented Michael Fassbender. A prisoner sentenced to death row; instead of the lethal injection he finds himself in the hands of Abstergo who are after his genetic sequence. The movies first mistake, in my opinion, is relegating the history to nothing but set pieces. You literally know nothing about those characters. Aguilar [also played by Fassbender, Callum's ancestor] doesn't get any development or insight past a throw away line or two. A relationship is implies between him and a fellow assassin but its meaningless when we don't see much of it. The main villains in the past don't even have proper names they just look mean. But hey, they're good set pieces right?

 

Well...yes and no. The choreography itself actually seems pretty solid but the cuts are just awful. You rarely get a singular good shot because they're constantly switching between the modern day and the past in all the action sequences; it's super distracting and unnecessary. Very good looking movie overall, though. Great sets, color, lighting, costume design. Lots of small authentic touches for AC fans in here, too.

 

Overall It relegated the best parts of Assassin's Creed to near nonexistence while promoting the least interesting bits of the franchise. Callum's an alright character all things considered and Marion Cotillard did a good job with what she was given till the very end which made very, very little sense and brought a lot of character motivations to question. It could have been so much more; but in the end its nothing but a mediocre video game movie.

[[...]]

Dom Hemingway (2013). (Somewhat) funny movie.

[Payne Killer]

Alright, I watched Batman vs Superman, I gotta say that I liked the fight with Doomsday, still haven't watched Suicide Squad, probably won't since Joker is played by a bitch, anyway Lex Luthor was cheap lmao. Should've had someone else play him, can't take that guy seriously at all, felt cheap I almost fell asleep watching him.

[Leftist Bastard]

There is a very interesting sweet spot that some movies occupy. Sometimes you just want a fun movie; one that doesn't bog you down with its artsy-iness and its messages and heavy handed drama. But at the same time, you don't want something so utterly dumb and lacking in heart like a Michael Bay Transformers movie for instance.

 

Free Fire is one such rare picture to occupy that sweet spot. The latest Ben Wheatley offering is sharply scripted, incredibly casted and a blast to watch. All the characters and actors [boasting names such as Noah Taylor, Cillian Murphy, Armie Hammer and Brie Larson] play off of each other so well, creating a a great dynamic in this bottle shoot out movie. It's a very good looking film as well; but the editing is the biggest problem here I think.

 

Sometimes you just don't know what's going on and who's shooting who. I get that it might be the point considering this is a chaotic stand off in a closed environment and some of the ambiguity/confusion adds a good deal to the experience but sometimes it just gets a little too much. Would recommend this movie, especially with friends.

[Crokey]

 

I Am Legend but with the disappointing alternative ending,

 

 

What alt ending?

 

From IMDB (spoilered for those who don't want to know)

 

 

The ending to the Alternate Theatrical Version varies from the original ending. Instead of blowing himself and the hemocytes up with a grenade, Neville discovers that the hemocytes actually came for the female he captured earlier in the movie. He relieves her of the cure and returns her to the hemocytes

 

 

I've seen the former ending, but I'm not that fussed about seeing the latter version as I thought the film was OK, but not must watch.

 

Last film I watched.

 

Olympus Has Fallen. - Seen it before but I watched it again as it's fantastically kick-ass all guns blazing action and is quite under-rated. Or should I say "critics" hate it as it's not highbrow enough for them, which means it's an awesome film by default.

 

It's a simple plot, bad guys take over the White House, make demands, lone good guy sets out to kick the bad guys ass, it's a staple of action films but the knack of getting it right always lies with the good guy, and Gerard Butler does a great job of it, with some great one-liners that John McClaine would be proud of.

[Leftist Bastard]

 

 

I Am Legend but with the disappointing alternative ending,

 

 

What alt ending?

 

From IMDB (spoilered for those who don't want to know)

 

 

The ending to the Alternate Theatrical Version varies from the original ending. Instead of blowing himself and the hemocytes up with a grenade, Neville discovers that the hemocytes actually came for the female he captured earlier in the movie. He relieves her of the cure and returns her to the hemocytes

 

 

I've seen the former ending, but I'm not that fussed about seeing the latter version as I thought the film was OK, but not must watch.

 

Last film I watched.

 

Olympus Has Fallen. - Seen it before but I watched it again as it's fantastically kick-ass all guns blazing action and is quite under-rated. Or should I say "critics" hate it as it's not highbrow enough for them, which means it's an awesome film by default.

 

It's a simple plot, bad guys take over the White House, make demands, lone good guy sets out to kick the bad guys ass, it's a staple of action films but the knack of getting it right always lies with the good guy, and Gerard Butler does a great job of it, with some great one-liners that John McClaine would be proud of.

 

I think that's a somewhat unfair assessment. John Wick isn't high brow either but both movies are sitting at 84% and 90% respectively on RT.

[Zoobz]

Nocturnal Animals.

 

Didn't expect much going into this film, but oh my it's so good. It's dark and really well thought out. Telling a story within the film to show a point. Revenge is the main overall theme in this film and it's done great.

 

It stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Amy Adams.

 

A must watch if you like good cinema films with great stories.

[Leftist Bastard]

When most movies based off of the public domain these days are nothing but mediocre schlock; there was no reason to believe 2015's Macbeth would be any different. But it turns out the cursed Scottish Play was fortunate enough to attach Fassbender starring as the titular Macbeth and Justin Kurzel behind the camera.

 

Macbeth is a great adaptation for two primary reasons: it sticks close to its source material; but unlike something like Zack Snyder's Watchmen it actually understands it, too. It manages to balance its integrity with its own cinematic vision. This is an absolutely gorgeous movie; dare say the best looking fantasy epic since Peter Jackson's original Lord of the Rings trilogy. Everything has this sort of strange dreamy quality to it as Macbeth plunged deeper and deeper into the annals of madness.

 

Speaking of which, the heart of this movies is Fassbender's performance; wavering from despicable to empathetic in a single scene sometimes. This is a man absolutely torn by his deeds and sins, incapable of repenting and sinking deeper and deeper into the black hole of power and ambition.

 

Great film.

[The Time Ranger]

 

 

The Guest

 

An action flick with elements of horror which is suspenseful and thrilling in equal measure. The story revolves around the Peterson family, their eldest son Caleb was a soldier who was killed serving abroad. One day an army friend of his called David visits the Peterson family and is invited to stay a while. David is a charming, friendly, but mysterious figure, however trouble is brewing on the horizon.

 

Dan Stevens plays David and does a great job portraying the steely eyed, enigmatic stranger. He has a great presence and it feels like this character was made for him. Maika Monroe is also excellent as the sister of the fallen Caleb, all the cast play their roles very well.

 

The movie is shot very nicely with a great soundtrack, the 1980's synth like soundtrack which permeates throughout the movie fits very well and really adds to certain scenes. While it was well recieved on release I believe this in time will reach cult classic status. I would recommend.

[Mister Pink]

The Guest was great. I really enjoyed it.

[Nelly2K]

[[...]]

Natural Born Killers (1994)

[Leftist Bastard]

Something about the IRA, The Troubles and Irish Republicanism in general makes for damn fine cinema. Nothing makes this more apparent than Hunger and In The Name of The Father; despite both being as different as can be.

 

There isn't much of a story line to speak of in Hunger. Based off of the true story of Bobby Sands and 75 Irish inmates who went on hunger strike during the troubles; the movie is a series of slick almost vignettes; moving in and out of each other. It has a strange pace to it, slow but mystifying in its nature. The posters might be plastered with Michael Fassbender who put in a hell of a show; with the famed 17 minute single take sequence of him another character conversing about ideology and morals is anchored by his dedication to the role, but I feel as if the real protagonist is the institute itself. The Maze Prison. It's a pretty disturbing piece on prison brutality; the movie constantly bludgeons you with the horrors of the grave power imbalance present in such places. It's highly evocative, sometimes quite disturbing and certainly not for everyone.

 

By contrast In The Name of The Father is a more traditional movie with a more linear narrative. It's Daniel Day Lewis, that's all I really have to say about this. The man puts his heart and soul into every performance; truly becoming one with the person he's portraying on screen. The movie might have taken some pretty big liberties with what really happened but the moral remains the same; in a society to quick to mob and lynch so many people get lost in the cross fire, people who fall in the gaps of the justice system. It's a grueling movie, but none the less a joy to watch for its main actor and it has one of my favorite ending scenes of anything, period.

 

 

Pale Rider is another Eastwood classic but with bit of a twist. Reading the synopsis it sounds like it's pulled straight from an earlier western, Shane, and while that may be true it has one unique card up its sleeve: there's a supernatural element handled with just enough ambiguity and implication to keep things fresh and interesting. This was a movie made back when westerns were considered a relic of the past; replaced by the Stallones and Arnolds of the world and for that, it's quite ballsy.

 

Slow West is an odd ball. I'm hesitant to call it a revisionist western because it certainly has love for its roots and it shows; but at the same time it's too strange and buckles too many conventions to be a revisionist take on the genre. What you end up with is both, sort of? for starters it's a short movie, which works in its favors. Clocking in at about 84 minutes long, Slow West is a soft breeze in a hot, western frontier. It has style, humor, a great leading duo with Fassbender and the kid from 2009's The Road all grown up; and its ultimately thoughtful in its material and to the way it respects the western without falling into familiarity.

[DC4B18]

Been watching a lot of comedy movies. Ones I've seen before.. like Hot Tub Time Machine 1/2. I want a part 3 to come out so badly

[kellyon]

Seven Years In Tibet (1997)

one of the greatest movies I ever saw

I give it 10/10

Edited May 5, 2017 by kellyon

[Nelly2K]

 

Needed a 2nd watch through after seeing it in the cinema!

[DC4B18]

I'm definitely gonna check this movie out tonight.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3TnaoeQ1ZA

 

I know it's wrong.. but that part @:10 made me laugh.

 

pwned

[Nelly2K]

[The Time Ranger]

Walk Hard The Dewey Cox Story

 

John C Reilly stars as Dewey Cox, the country boy who became a music legend. The movie amalgamates the back stories of numerous country and western and rock and roll stars and spoofs them in the form of Dewey Cox and his journey to stardom. A very funny movie with plenty of quotable lines and memorable moments, some surprisingly catchy songs too. It remains consistently entertaining throughout the two hour run time as Dewey plays his songs through the wholesome 1950's, the counter culture 1960's and radical 1970's.

 

As a man called Dewey Cox once said, walk hard through life's rocky road.

 

 

[Fuzzknuckles]

GOTG2 - great fun and a worthy sequel. +10 points for Howard cameo.

 

Assassin's Creed - great fun for 60 minutes, junk for the remaining 48 minutes. Could have been so good, but felt really confused by the end. Shame.

[Nelly2K]

Bang goes 2 hours I'll never get back.

 

[Leftist Bastard]

Bang goes 2 hours I'll never get back.

 

I actually liked that film. Wasn't brilliant but it was good fun and I liked the inspirations it drew from and the homage it paid.

[Nelly2K]

Can anyone tell I'm just binging movies on my study leave?

 

[Mukkus]

I assumed this to be about race relations, yet was surprised to find an M Night type flick.

Edited May 10, 2017 by Mukkus

[Nelly2K]

Not even joking, this series could have just been left with 2...or 1.

 

[Richard Power Colt]

Saw Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2. It was pretty good, definitely developed all the characters more and humor was still good. This and the first one are probably my favorite films in the MCU though I'm not a huge fan of that film universe in general.

 

I also saw Logan recently which I'd say is pretty close to being the best super hero film I've seen(competing closely with the Dark Knight trilogy for me). I'd love to see more gritty comic book films like that with some actual heavy hitting drama or more films like the 2012 Dredd film which was just plain badass. Good thing that Fox doesn't seem to be afraid of doing R-rated films.

[Mister Pink]

 

Mindhorn played by the Mighty Boosh's Julian Barratt is a film about a washed up 80's TV detective who police get in touch with because there's an alleged serial killer that believes Mindhorn is a real detective and that he wants to speak with him only. I really enjoyed it. If you like humour about washed up or comical f*ck-up characters like Alan Partridge, Dave Brent of The Office, you might get a chuckle out of this. It also satirizes bad 80's TV detective shows pretty funnily.

 

 

 

 

[Nelly2K]

[[...]]

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017). Even though, it's mainly filled with humor and stuff, it has some touching scenes.

[ciel]