Recently watched movies!

[Dr Kain]

[canofhumdingers]

[Dr Kain]

Get Out - One of the best movies of the year. 10/10.

[jellydonut25]

[canofhumdingers]

Batman Begins - Man, every time I watch this film I love it more. This might be the best Batman film ever made. Sometimes I even think it might eclipse the '89 film as my personal favorite, but when I sit down and honestly compare them, '89 always comes out ahead for me. Still, this is a great film. They NAIL all the quintessential things that make Batman Batman. While I favor the production design from '89, I greatly appreciate the careful thought that clearly went into every element here. The Tumbler is a beast of a machine. The batsuit is beautiful and intimidating. I also enjoy how this trilogy is probably the closest we'll ever get to seeing what Batman would be like in the real world (though I'd challenge anyone who claims Nolan's bat-universe is truly "realistic"). The story is superb and gracefully rises above being "yet another origin story" for something any fan has seen the origin of countless times over various media. The casting is solid. Most of the tertiary characters are great. Bale turns in a quality performance, though I think the writing is stronger than his acting. Liam Neeson is wonderful (is he ever anything less than top notch? Even in crappy movies he's awesome). I'm glad they recast Rachel in the sequel, but whatsherface is good enough in the role here (not great, but good enough). Overall an A++ Batfilm. It kills me that I never saw this in the theater. I graduated college just a month before this came out and was so busy that I never even heard of it until it was done theatrically. Hopefully I'll be able to remedy that at a (35mm please please?) revival screening sometime in the future.

The Dark Knight - What can I say that hasn't been said already? An amazing work that broke all the boundaries and records of super hero films. Ledger's Joker will be remembered as one of the greatest film villains every committed to celluloid. Up there with Darth Vader and Hannibal Lector. That performance has surpassed fame to become legendary, an I think it would have done so even without his untimely death. That being said, this film is definitely more about the villains than the hero. But even so, Batman still gets a very satisfying arc with solid character development. And that ending montage narration... man, it is no exaggeration to say it still gives me goosebumps every time. SO good! Regarding the batsuit, I love the idea behind the redesign, but I don't love the actual new design. I don't hate it, but it's certainly low on my list of favorite live action batsuits. The batpod is another cool idea that is well executed, although it really doesn't make any sense whatsoever for it to be part of the tumbler's design based on the tumbler's in-universe origin. Overall an absolutely amazing sequel. While I don't agree, I can totally understand why anyone might claim this surpasses Batman Begins.

The Dark Knight Rises - A solid ending to an amazing trilogy. This trilogy kinda reminds me of the original Star Wars trilogy: a brilliant start, an incredible sequel that has reasonable claim to being even better than the first, and a solid finale that fails to live up to the previous entries but still delivers a satisfying conclusion (although I'd say TDKR is over all higher quality than ROTJ, even though I love ROTJ). Bane is a really neat new take on the character. They waded into dangerous waters straying so far from his source material, but this is a rare instance where I think they fully succeeded. I know many complained about his voice, but I liked it and never found it unintelligible. Catwoman was well done and a pretty faithful representation. I do wish her costume had been a little more on-the-nose with the cat theme, but even as it was it fit well into the world they had built. I'm not overly crazy about the atomic bomb plot, but it's serviceable. It's funny, Talia had me totally fooled the first time I saw this movie, but on subsequent viewings her foreshadowing it SO BLATANTLY obvious. She literally quotes her father more than once! Bruce Wayne's story (and this film is very much a Bruce Wayne story over a Batman story) is really gratifying. He succeeds in making Batman truly a symbol and legend and is rewarded with the ability to retire into anonymity. It wouldn't work for all incarnations of Batman, but in this trilogy, seeing him make it to the point where he no longer needs Batman and can gladly relinquish the cowl to the next in line (Robin Jonathan Blake - in another well orchestrated turn of events) is just the perfect ending. And to those who say he didn't really survive: PHOOEY! It's clearly the film's intent that he does. All the way back to Batman Begins he was wistfully talking about a time when he wouldn't need to be Batman (even if he didn't completely mean it yet). In the final montage it's mentioned that Bruce Wayne fixed the autopilot 6 months ago, and when cataloging the remainder of the Wayne estate they say everything is accounted for except a string of pearls, which Selina happens to be wearing at the cafe. Also, while it's a bit of a stretch, it is possible that he could have flown the bomb far enough out to eject unseen and still had the autopilot fly far enough from him to survive the blast. It's said the bomb has a 6 mile blast radius. Back when the film came out, I actually crunched the numbers and it could work. It's not probable, but it is possible. And... he's Batman.

[Dr Kain]

You crazy, Rises is a dreadful movie.

[Dr Kain]

[jellydonut25]

[canofhumdingers]

Yeah, Batman and Robin is dreadful (hence why I skipped it and Forvever...). TDKR is a good film that just doesn't quite live up to the greatness of the previous entries.

[Dr Kain]

Batman Forever is far superior to Rises and the Bane in Batman & Robin is far closer to being accurate to the comics that whatever the "OH GODZILLA! WHAT TERRIBLE LANGUAGE!" Tom Hardy played.

[jellydonut25]

[canofhumdingers]

[Dr Kain]

Batman & Robin does indeed suck, but Rises is pretty much only one peg above it. It is a movie that I can only bring myself to watch if I am watching te Nolan movies back to back. If I am just watching a movie on its own, there is no way in hell I am going to watch something as crappy as Rises.

Forever is far more Batman than Rises though. At least Batman didn't quit after 9 months because the police chased him.

[eabaker]

I'm actually not that big a fan of Batman Begins. I really dug it on first viewing, but by the second time in theater, it had lost a lot of its luster, and hasn't regained it on subsequent viewings. To my mind, it's trying to cram too much in to a single movie, and would have played a lot better as a pair of movies, one telling the origins and one giving us his first real outing as "The Batman." Failing that, covering the same material but tacking another hour or so onto the runtime might have worked for me. The problem is that it's all too much of a feature-length montage for my tastes; I would prefer if a lot of it played at a much slower pace.

[jellydonut25]

Batman didn't quit because the police chased him. He quit because he'd "won." Criminals were successfully being locked away due to the Dent Act, the mob presence in Gotham was essentially dead, and there was no real need for Batman. "Peace has cost you your strength. Victory has defeated you." He'd won...why would he need to keep doing it?

People complain about things like that and say "It's not true to the comics because Batman would never quit," but there have been stories and writers who have put Bruce through arcs that would cause him to not be Batman anymore...but since the comic itself then keeps going, the next writer finds ways to retcon or bring Bruce back because that's the nature of a comic and how the medium differs from that of film.

[lhb412]

I really liked that Batman Begins is the Batman movie that's the most about Batman... at least that I've seen (should catch The Lego Batman movie sometime).

Hey, it's October 2nd and I haven't watched horror movie #1. Need to change that!

[eabaker]

[Dr Kain]

Beetlejuice - I've gotta say that this movie seems to get better each time I watch it. This was probably my third or fourth time seeing it. It's far from perfect, but a fun movie nonetheless. 8/10.

[klen7]

Ninjago Lego Movie - The first act of this film is probably the closest we will get to a big budget American Super Sentai film (PR properties included) - The second and third act felt like stuff we had seen before, even from the Lego Movie franchise. My kid and i both lol'd a few times (like the scene where the fire ninja tries to stop the shishi head) - but Garmadon feels a lot like Lego Batman. It's worth a watch and if you have kids, it's certainly better than Angry Birds or Rio.

New Police Story - Ok, Lhb412 was right, this IS darker/grittier than the more recent Police Story reboot that starts off with Jackie Chan putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger. I guess i'd rank the series 3, 4, 1, 6, 5, 2? They did get a bit carried away with the digital effects in this entry, but i'd still hate to be the crew member responsible for cleaning up glass on most of this franchise

Stoker - I really wanted to see this when it came out, but never did.. until now. I think the script (which was apparently on the Black list of best unproduced scripts in Hollywood) is the weakest part of the film. In the hands of a lesser director it would been completely forgettable. That said, there is a hypnotic quality to this that drags you along until the 2nd act twist. Not sure I fully understood the final scene, but i do kind of get all the Hitchcock comparisons and the overall favorable critical reception.

Luck Key - Randomly found this on Netflix. It was a sleeper hit in Korea so I was curious. It runs a tad too long for a comedy, but its a pretty solid film that could easily be remade with a Hollywood A-List cast, even a quirky director (Coens? Wes Anderson?) - Anyway, its a "trading places" type story with an amnesia element, all of which sounds like a movie i wouldn't enjoy, but aside from a frustrating moment in the finale, most of the misunderstandings really play out well. A hit man and failing actor end up switching lives. I'd recommend checking this one out if you are up for a subtitled foreign comedy.

[O.Supreme]

Wonder Woman---Finally....After waiting patiently several months, and many disappointing mishaps at not seeing this in the theater, I had to settle for Redbox, sadly. But it was definitely a good film, I enjoyed it very much. I'll be adding it to my media collection very soon. I probably should not have watched the HT first...But I did wonder...How would Diana know hundreds of languages, and be acquainted with most significant literature throughout time, also know about "biological reproduction" but not know what marriage is ???... There were a couple moments like that, but like I said the film is overall very enjoyable. My only regret is of course the previously mentioned bad timing that did not allow me to experience this in the theater...Oh and I'm just throwing this out there, as a male, and with all due respect...Gal Gadot is a Beautiful Woman!

[jellydonut25]

For Halloween so far I've watched Night, Dawn and Day of the Dead...they're all at least 4.5 outa 5, and probably 5. My only real complaint with any of them comes in Day, where, unlike both Night and Dawn, I don't feel like I have a very good lay of the land. The setting and layout of said facility aren't set up that well and I don't have a good idea of where things are happening in relation to one another.

I also have watched The Crazies - I didn't like it much on my first watch years ago, and though I still have some of the same issues with it (there's no central character, and there's a bit of immediacy/sense of urgency slightly lacking) but I didn't mind the more understated nature of Trixie this time around, and it felt a little more effective as a horror piece overall. There's some disturbing stuff happening, and the social commentary, as always with early Romero, is completely on-point. If he had maybe pushed it a little further, and managed to squeeze just a little more of a LINGERING sense of dread, I think he'd have had something right up there with his Dead films. 3.5/5.

[O.Supreme]

Gargoyles (1972)

Wow! I Forgot this existed. I remember seeing this in the early 80's. For some reason it was lumped in a weekly marathon with kaiju films such as- Godzilla vs The Thing, FCTW, The X From Outer Space...man...I thought I had dug on the internet up all my unanswered childhood questions/memories. I guess there are still some out there. Its available on Youtube if anyone wants to give it a watch, as much a product of the times and budget as it is.

[canofhumdingers]

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition - After the more grounded and "real world" approach of the Nolan trilogy, we're back to full bore comic book mode. I understand the polarizing nature of this film but I like it. But only in its extended form; the theatrical cut is an incomprehensible wreck of bad editing. I get the complaints about Superman being too mopey but I think it works here. He's just recently unveiled his existence to the world and had his first major battle. That battle did NOT go well and many many people were hurt or killed. He's wrestling with that guilt and having this internal struggle of whether the good Superman can do is worth the price that so many paid. I think anyone who's as inherently good as Superman is supposed to be would struggle with that, especially after their first really high casualty fight like that.

Batman sees the destruction and does what Batman does: he takes it upon himself to do whatever he has to to protect the innocent and defenseless. And he takes it too far in the extreme as Batman has been wont to do. He's so blinded by his desire to protect regular people that he can't see the heinous nature of what he's doing. He's gone full Captain Ahab.

Lex Luthor is a major mixed bag. He's actually got some really great dialogue. But the way he's portrayed, as a twitchy mumbling wacko doesn't lend credence to the his (evil) brilliance. His plan is intricate and rather cunning but it would seem more believable if he was played as more coolly calculating and in control of himself.

Wonder Woman is awesome, end of story.

Ultimately I think the title fight is satisfying. This is a big comic book fanboy showdown and it takes a big, silly, comic-book-style evil plan to get us to the point for them to fight. But when they do fight, it's lots of fun. Batman uses his cunning wits and tremendous combat experience to lay traps for Superman that level the playing field. But Superman still manages to get in some serious hurt on the Batman. The conclusion of the fight is also a little silly, but I think playing on the fact that both characters' moms are named Martha is actually kind of genius. Batman needed something really important, but also really personal to snap him out of his Ahab-ian crusade. And what's more important or personal to Batman than his mother? Also, while the film doesn't dwell on it, once he knows she's at risk, Batman is all too familiar with the pain of loosing your mother to an evil act and he wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Then they go into the Death of Superman with Doomsday. Doomsday is kind of generic but he serves his purpose to the plot and the fight is pretty sweet. I think they did a really nice job with the final team up of DC's big three in the finale.

Also, can I just say the fight choreography in this movie is really really cool. Batman in particular is just unstoppably brutal, in a good way. I've always loved martial arts and close-quarters combat. And while some of the stuff he does probably wouldn't work in real life, the way Batman fights is very close to how he would have to fight in real life to win in those situations. He's fast, focused, accurate, and unforgiving. I know I know, he kills people. The ones that bother me are when he just machine guns guys down from his vehicles, and shooting the flamethrower. Those feel un-Batman-like. But stuff like the grenade? You could easily argue he was just defending himself in a very dynamic and dangerous fight and couldn't help that they were dumb enough to try using weapons like that. But it's not just saving Martha. His fight with Supes and the team up against Doomsday also have really neat choreography.

[Dr Kain]

The problem is that Superman is NOT wrestling with that guilt. There is nothing at all that shows he is even remorseful from what happened one bit. Hell, he throws Doomsday into a god damned factory, blowing it to pieces Michael Bay style. He learned nothing.

[DannyBeane]

I watched the 1988 Blob yesterday for my Halloween marathon. I hadn't seen this film since I was 8 or 9 years old. In the 80s everyone always talks about the Slashers, The Thing, Aliens, The Shining or Terminator, Predator, or Poltergeist and this film seems largely forgotten. I don't know why. It was fantastic. For most of the film it has fantastic gory spfx that rival what you see the The Thing. The movie kills off characters that would normally survive other films. The cinematography is beautiful. All the night scenes are color but not over done. This for me was about as perfect of an 80s horror film as I could imagine. I give it a 9/10.