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Author Topic: The Movie Thread  (Read 96433 times)

Voros
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The Movie Thread
« Reply #2070 on: December 28, 2017, 02:13:15 PM »
Quote from: Aglondir;1016479
...Or perhaps today's youth also experience this same sense of magic in Star Wars movies? I sense they are only mildly impressed.

My nephews and nieces love Star Wars.

Armchair Gamer

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« Reply #2071 on: December 28, 2017, 02:14:21 PM »
Quote from: Voros;1016623
Sorry if I was too harsh, I honestly don't mind people disliking the film but criticizing it because of absurdly nit picking nonsense that has nothing to do with how they function as films is why there has been such a disconnect between 'fandom' reaction and the general audience.

Understandable. I do think that Leia's Force use felt like we missed a step between the hints in V/VI and the full use in VIII, but it wasn't more than a brief blip on the suspension of disbelief. And as I said, part of that was that it reminded me of a weak moment in a worse film.
« Last Edit: December 28, 2017, 02:40:55 PM by Armchair Gamer »

Voros
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« Reply #2072 on: December 28, 2017, 03:17:58 PM »
As Ratman has said if one found the film engaging as a whole it is unikely such nitpicking would be taking place. Hence why the poor dialogue and wooden actiing in the original films is so often ignored but rabidly criticized in the newer films.

But I also get the feeling many fans have simply outgrown the series and will always be nitpicking rather than enjoying it for what it is. They are never going to get that sense of wonder they experienced as kids again.

Bedrockbrendan

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« Reply #2073 on: December 28, 2017, 03:31:59 PM »
Quote from: Voros;1016645
As Ratman has said if one found the film engaging as a whole it is unikely such nitpicking would be taking place. Hence why the poor dialogue and wooden actiing in the original films is so often ignored but rabidly criticized in the newer films.
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I don't think this is the case. My feeling on the dialogue and acting in the first movies is the actors all have very good chemistry and variable acting levels. But the chemistry is there and the casting seemed to work. Even if people weren't the best actors in the world, they had a charisma or spark. I think in the prequels, the dialogue most people have in mind is the stuff between Anakin and Padme. And they just didn't have chemistry and something was really off about the deliveries. I don't know if it was the direction, the dialogue or the actors, but I never once doubted the love between Han and Leia, no matter how cheesy the dialogue. With Anakin and Padme, they just never seemed to be in love.

That said, you also had great actors in the prequels delivering lines solidly. I think mainly it is the Padme and Anakin thing (I didn't really notice an issue until I saw Episode II in the theaters. And it was definitely those Anakin and Padme scenes that pulled me out of the movie.

In the newer movies (the first one at least, as I haven't seen the second one). I feel like the acting and chemistry is closer to the original trilogy. For example, Emo Kylo Ren doesn't work on paper for me (I was dreading it walking into the theater) but when I actually saw him on the screen, I liked the way the actor pulled it off.

Toadmaster

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« Reply #2074 on: December 29, 2017, 01:53:54 AM »
Just watched Bright, a new Netflicks movie. I see the critics are already shredding it but I liked it, kind of Shadow Run meets Alien Nation with a side of Cast a Deadly Spell.

Basic premise is the modern world with fantasy races. It follows a human police officer with the Los Angeles Police Dept who gets partnered with the first orc police officer in the LAPD. Stuff happens, things blow up, good fun. My wife and I liked it, decent action flick that went a bit differently than I initially expected.  


It came out last week so I'll leave it at that to avoid any spoilers. Don't read the Wikipedia entry if you are worried about spoilers they pretty much go through the whole movie scene by scene.

Ratman_tf

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« Reply #2075 on: December 29, 2017, 02:37:58 AM »
Quote from: Toadmaster;1016730
Just watched Bright, a new Netflicks movie. I see the critics are already shredding it but I liked it, kind of Shadow Run meets Alien Nation with a side of Cast a Deadly Spell.

Basic premise is the modern world with fantasy races. It follows a human police officer with the Los Angeles Police Dept who gets partnered with the first orc police officer in the LAPD. Stuff happens, things blow up, good fun. My wife and I liked it, decent action flick that went a bit differently than I initially expected.  


It came out last week so I'll leave it at that to avoid any spoilers. Don't read the Wikipedia entry if you are worried about spoilers they pretty much go through the whole movie scene by scene.

Ooh, yeah. I liked it too.
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Omega

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« Reply #2076 on: December 29, 2017, 03:25:08 PM »
Watched "Babes in Toyland" with Laurel and Hardy circa 1934. A fun BW movie even now and the ending is a blast. It was one of my main inspirations for playing dart users in D&D. The little Mickey Mouse character was fascinating. Hard to believe that was a monkey performing some of those movements. Really well done.

Then watched the 1961 Disney version with Ray Bolger as the wonderfully hammy villain. Great battle at the end with the toy-scale free-for-all.

Then finally watched "Babes in Toyland" from 1986 with Drew Barrymore and... Keanu Reeves? Yep, thats him. Richard Mulligan as the villain. Really weird movie which is oddly slow paced. A kinda dull end to the set so far.

Theres also an animated version from the late 90s which I dont have and only saw once and do not care to see again really. Good art overall with a Don Bluth feel to it. But oddly lacking in tone or "feel" of the story. I'll have to hunt it down and see what felt off.

Elfdart

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« Reply #2077 on: December 30, 2017, 12:44:21 AM »
I just watched the unjustly ignored Hammer classic Curse of the Werewolf and for low-budget British horror, this is about as good as it gets. Apparently Hammer was supposed to make a horror film about the Spanish Inquisition, but the censors squelched that after Spanish-style sets and costumes were already put together. So the producers simply changed the setting of their werewolf movie from France to Spain and shot it using the sets and costumes for the Inquisition movie.* The cast is great, especially Oliver Reed in one of his very first roles as the werewolf -and not just because he already looked like one.

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* Showing ingenuity like Roger Corman did when he shot Masque of the Red Death on the sets built for Beckett, or when Lucas and Spielberg borrowed the life-size U-boat built for Das Boot to make Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Jesus Fucking Christ, is this guy honestly that goddamned stupid? He can't understand the plot of a Star Wars film? We're not talking about "Rashomon" here, for fuck's sake. The plot is as linear as they come. If anything, the film tries too hard to fill in all the gaps. This guy must be a flaming retard.  --Mike Wong on Red Letter Moron's review of The Phantom Menace

Voros
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« Reply #2078 on: December 30, 2017, 01:24:57 AM »
I love Curse as well, one of the best classic-era Hammers.

In contrast I just rewatched Maximum Overdrive, a camp classic and one of the dumbest films ever made. Forgot it actually had a decent B-movie film cast. Some of the bit parts are incredibly broadly played even by exploitation standards.

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King's love of trash shines through and he apparently made this at the peak of his cocaine addiction and it shows. Dialogue and humour has never been King’s strong suit and this brings that home. Despite that I find it perversely enjoyable, although it never really tops the delirium of its opening scenes.
« Last Edit: December 30, 2017, 04:11:12 AM by Voros »

S'mon

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« Reply #2079 on: December 30, 2017, 03:33:19 PM »
Quote from: BedrockBrendan;1016648

In the newer movies (the first one at least, as I haven't seen the second one). I feel like the acting and chemistry is closer to the original trilogy. For example, Emo Kylo Ren doesn't work on paper for me (I was dreading it walking into the theater) but when I actually saw him on the screen, I liked the way the actor pulled it off.


I strongly disliked VIII when I saw it a few days ago, and was iffy about VII, but I agree the acting in them is fine, whereas I-III suffer from very poor performances, including by Ewan MacGregor(!).

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« Reply #2080 on: December 30, 2017, 07:49:50 PM »
Quote from: S'mon;1016996
I strongly disliked VIII when I saw it a few days ago, and was iffy about VII, but I agree the acting in them is fine, whereas I-III suffer from very poor performances, including by Ewan MacGregor(!).

Why did you not like VIII?

Elfdart

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« Reply #2081 on: December 30, 2017, 08:31:43 PM »
Quote from: BedrockBrendan;1016648
I don't think this is the case. My feeling on the dialogue and acting in the first movies is the actors all have very good chemistry and variable acting levels. But the chemistry is there and the casting seemed to work. Even if people weren't the best actors in the world, they had a charisma or spark. I think in the prequels, the dialogue most people have in mind is the stuff between Anakin and Padme. And they just didn't have chemistry and something was really off about the deliveries. I don't know if it was the direction, the dialogue or the actors, but I never once doubted the love between Han and Leia, no matter how cheesy the dialogue. With Anakin and Padme, they just never seemed to be in love.

That said, you also had great actors in the prequels delivering lines solidly. I think mainly it is the Padme and Anakin thing (I didn't really notice an issue until I saw Episode II in the theaters. And it was definitely those Anakin and Padme scenes that pulled me out of the movie.


Teen romance is always cringeworthy, from Romeo & Juliet to Sixteen Candles. I think the actors playing Anakin and Padme did a pretty good job of playing a clingy mamma's boy and a goody two shoes.  

Quote
In the newer movies (the first one at least, as I haven't seen the second one). I feel like the acting and chemistry is closer to the original trilogy. For example, Emo Kylo Ren doesn't work on paper for me (I was dreading it walking into the theater) but when I actually saw him on the screen, I liked the way the actor pulled it off.


The writing and acting in 7 and 8 came across to me as rather smarmy and playing to the audience in Whedonesque fashion.

And don't get me started on how completely fucktarded the plot/story/setting are for episodes 7 and 8. By the way, I hear Rian Johnson is going to make a James Bond film where 007 doesn't fight bad guys, drive cool cars or bang hot chicks.
Jesus Fucking Christ, is this guy honestly that goddamned stupid? He can't understand the plot of a Star Wars film? We're not talking about "Rashomon" here, for fuck's sake. The plot is as linear as they come. If anything, the film tries too hard to fill in all the gaps. This guy must be a flaming retard.  --Mike Wong on Red Letter Moron's review of The Phantom Menace

Bedrockbrendan

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« Reply #2082 on: December 30, 2017, 09:30:46 PM »
Quote from: Elfdart;1017036
Teen romance is always cringeworthy, from Romeo & Juliet to Sixteen Candles. I think the actors playing Anakin and Padme did a pretty good job of playing a clingy mamma's boy and a goody two shoes.  
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I don't know if it was the actors or the direction, because honestly I've enjoyed their performances in other movies, but this doesn't explain the problem in my book. It wasn't just typical teen romance cringe, that was genuinely bad acting and chemistry between them (and the dialogue certainly didn't help). But Episode II was where I consciously remember deciding something was wrong and it was around the fireplace scene. Romeo and Juliet it was not.

Elfdart

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« Reply #2083 on: December 30, 2017, 09:50:34 PM »
Quote from: BedrockBrendan;1017043
I don't know if it was the actors or the direction, because honestly I've enjoyed their performances in other movies, but this doesn't explain the problem in my book. It wasn't just typical teen romance cringe, that was genuinely bad acting and chemistry between them (and the dialogue certainly didn't help). But Episode II was where I consciously remember deciding something was wrong and it was around the fireplace scene. Romeo and Juliet it was not.


I don't think it's supposed to be a great romance, but a bad relationship between a pair of damaged teenagers (he does end up choking her, after all). As you said, the actors are much more likable in other movies, so it's not lack of talent. I'd add that George Lucas writes and directs teenagers very well (sometimes too close to home), as anyone who has seen American Graffiti knows, so it's not like the guy who made Terry the Toad and Debbie (as well as Steve and Laurie) seem plausible and likable couldn't have done it for Anakin and Padme if he wanted it that way. The "romance" in AOTC and ROTS doesn't come across well because it's not supposed to. It's one of the reasons the Emperor comes to power.
Jesus Fucking Christ, is this guy honestly that goddamned stupid? He can't understand the plot of a Star Wars film? We're not talking about "Rashomon" here, for fuck's sake. The plot is as linear as they come. If anything, the film tries too hard to fill in all the gaps. This guy must be a flaming retard.  --Mike Wong on Red Letter Moron's review of The Phantom Menace

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« Reply #2084 on: December 30, 2017, 10:12:47 PM »
Quote from: BedrockBrendan;1017043
I don't know if it was the actors or the direction, because honestly I've enjoyed their performances in other movies, but this doesn't explain the problem in my book. It wasn't just typical teen romance cringe, that was genuinely bad acting and chemistry between them (and the dialogue certainly didn't help). But Episode II was where I consciously remember deciding something was wrong and it was around the fireplace scene. Romeo and Juliet it was not.

Even a great actor can fail under bad direction.  Look at Jeremy Irons, he's usually great, but in the D&D movie he chewed his way through all the scenery.
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