The Movie Thread Reloaded

Apparition · January 03, 2018, 11:10:35 PM

[video=youtube_share;3WfR87K5zW8]https://youtu.be/3WfR87K5zW8[/youtube]

The singular good scene from the sequels.

danbuter · January 04, 2018, 04:10:28 PM

I watched The Great Wall, with Matt Damon fighting alien dinosaurs with a bow and arrow. As silly as the premise is, it's a fun movie.

Omega · January 04, 2018, 06:28:30 PM

While net was down sat down and watched some old BW SF movies.

Kronos: One of those "science hero" sorts of movies with a relatively slow start off but lots going on even so. Flying saucer is detected approaching earth. For some reason its decided to blow it up. Fails and the thing lands in the ocean off Mexico. Scientist team investigates. And finally Kronos makes its appearance. And I love the design of the thing. Its monolithic and lacking most of the standard robot features, or features at all. It proceeds to go on a rampage as its mission is to drain energy. Really neet way ov moving as it stomps along on four piston pillar legs that alternatingly lift and fall.

Monolith Monsters: Mentioned this before. Another "science hero" movie and one of my favourites for the totally original idea of a "monster" that isnt even alive. A meteor crashes outside a little desert town and soon thereafter people collect some of the fragments to study or by chance. Then one of found dead, petrified and then another and it becomes apparent the threat is the rock fragments that absorb water and silica and grow into huge crystal pillars that eventually topple and shatter. Also interesting in that the monster is secondary to the interplay of the people and how they react to the impending crisis.

Voros · January 04, 2018, 07:03:56 PM

Watched Office a Korean thriller/horror film. Pretty slow burn and subtle (with touches of Hitchcock) for a Korean genre film which these days tend towards a lot of violence and gore. Not that this one doesn't get plenty violent by the end but I'm grading on a curve here. Some nice but simple twists in this that could be used in any CoC or investigation game.

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Bedrockbrendan · January 04, 2018, 08:45:13 PM

We did a roundtable talk on House of Traps: https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-e5zv7-82211f

This is an early 80s Chang Cheh film starring the venom mob (no Lo Meng this time out though) and based on the Seven Heroes and Five Gallants. I think the story in this one is engaging and the fight scenes are all very tight. The centerpiece of the film is the House of Traps, which is a really cool concept and something that would work well in a campaign. It isn't a house filled with traps so much as a tower housing a single, but multi-level, trap structure (there are a sequence of traps that all play off each other once the thing is triggered). The world here is pretty morally gray, with a prince during the early Song Dynasty seeking revenge against Emperor Taizong for forcing his father to commit suicide. The protagonists of the film are trying to break into the prince's House of Traps to recover some stolen objects and to obtain a list of people involved in the revolt. Characters are colorful and memorable (even those with brief moments on screen). Pretty bloody as these films go as well.

Omega · January 05, 2018, 02:30:27 AM

Saw what I think was House of Traps at a con. That the one with the floor of spikes and some sort of killer umbrella?

Voros · January 05, 2018, 02:32:40 AM

Is the Baulderstone on the podcast the same Baulderstone of the forum?

I'm digging the discussion approach to the podcasts, you know your Chinese history!

Toadmaster · January 05, 2018, 03:18:18 AM

Quote from: Omega;1017754Monolith Monsters: Mentioned this before. Another "science hero" movie and one of my favourites for the totally original idea of a "monster" that isnt even alive. A meteor crashes outside a little desert town and soon thereafter people collect some of the fragments to study or by chance. Then one of found dead, petrified and then another and it becomes apparent the threat is the rock fragments that absorb water and silica and grow into huge crystal pillars that eventually topple and shatter. Also interesting in that the monster is secondary to the interplay of the people and how they react to the impending crisis.

I saw this as a kid, keep meaning to track it down to watch again. If it is as I remember than more interesting than the description would make it sound.

Speaking of older movies, I recently watched the 1970s Invasion of the Body Snatchers again. I hadn't seen it in years and it was much better and scarier than I expected. Proof that re-makes don't always suck or just retread the same old story with different faces.

Bedrockbrendan · January 05, 2018, 07:40:20 AM

Quote from: Voros;1017811Is the Baulderstone on the podcast the same Baulderstone of the forum?

I'm digging the discussion approach to the podcasts, you know your Chinese history!

Thanks.

That is the same Baulderstone.

The discussion approach is a double edged sword but I feel more comfortable with that format. I just hit record and we don't edit the discussion (the only exception to the later is if something truly disruptive occurs and I have to stop recording---in which case I just splice together two separate recordings). I think you get more honest opinions about things that way and eventually you start getting a natural conversation.

Last week we reviewed a movie that uses the same source material so it was interesting contrasting them. Next week we are doing Reign of Assassins (normally we try to do 3 old school movies, followed by 1 newer film---newer can mean 90s or later).

Bedrockbrendan · January 05, 2018, 07:43:38 AM

Quote from: Omega;1017810Saw what I think was House of Traps at a con. That the one with the floor of spikes and some sort of killer umbrella?

That sounds like the same movie.

Omega · January 05, 2018, 03:31:54 PM

And as posted in the DL thread...

There is a Dragonlance Musical? In Russia? The Last Trial.
One of the songs from it. Takisis and Raistlin. Lord of Nothing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEXYeb4pSG8

Apparently started off as a fan made stage play in the 90s and then had a larger production around 2010 and one big final production in 2014.

Headless · January 05, 2018, 03:43:13 PM

Watched "The Last Dragon" an american kungfu movie from the 80s set in Harlem. The main charcter is Bruce Leroy, a black dude who dresses and acts like he thinks Chinese do. Its a fun and well done film.

Then "Dragon: the Bruce Lee Story" my wife liked that one better, its actully a love story with alot of Kungfu. It wasn't as good as I remembered, but I was very tired and I'm not 14 any more.

Omega · January 05, 2018, 04:09:41 PM

Saw the Last Dragon in theater. Reallly weird movie with alot of weird acting characters. But hey it was the 80s and movies were still able to be properly weird.

Warboss Squee · January 05, 2018, 04:38:45 PM

So just watched Spiderman Homecoming and Justice League.

Spiderman was just as tween and annoying as I expected, but it's offset by strong performances from Michael Keaton and the kid playing Parker. Gwyneth Paltrow got billing in the credits for less than a minute of screen time. Guess someone was worried she might find a hashtag.

Justice League...was a mixed bag. Plot was surprisingly solid for a DC film, action scenes were easy to follow, but everyone that wasn't Wonder Woman or Flash looked plastic, like the editors went in during post and cgi'd the cast and failed to be subtle. I understand the Cavill had a moustache that needed to be removed, but the rest? No idea. And why in shit is Flash a barely functional autistic?

Voros · January 05, 2018, 11:29:21 PM

Quote from: Omega;1017885And as posted in the DL thread...

There is a Dragonlance Musical? In Russia? The Last Trial.
One of the songs from it. Takisis and Raistlin. Lord of Nothing
[video=youtube;lEXYeb4pSG8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEXYeb4pSG8[/youtube]

Apparently started off as a fan made stage play in the 90s and then had a larger production around 2010 and one big final production in 2014.

That's the most Russian thing I've seen since Tarkovsky died.