Recently watched movies!

[Dr Kain]

Venom - So glad I didn't waste money to see this, it was god damn boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooring. It didn't help that Eddie was utterly unlikable and everything that happened to him was his own fault and well deserved, but it didn't do anything intriguing to make the long slog until he acquired the symbiote worth it. The action scenes were quite generic, the soundtrack was forgettable, and Riot didn't even look a thing like his comic counterpart. Additionally, Hardy was more wooden than he was as Bane. Why does he keep getting these leading roles when he tends to be the least interesting character in his films? Now it could have been a lot worse as it felt like a very early 2000s comic book film, and we know how bad a lot of those were. Regardless, this movie did absolutely nothing we haven't seen before. Go back to the drawing board Sony. I give it a generous 6/10.

[jellydonut25]

Glass - This movie got so SHREDDED in reviews that I almost just stayed away. But then a friend I really trust saw it and was like, "What is everyone's problem?" So I checked it out and....what the hell is everyone's PROBLEM? This is a sequel to Unbreakable and Split. It's not a Marvel movie. And I know that the movie has some other problems as well, but like...this is a good capper to a solid trilogy and fits thematically with the two previous movies. I liked it QUITE a bit. I've seen people calling it joyless...and I have to wonder if they watched it at all. McAvoy's character(s) provide PLENTY of humor. People lamenting the "SHYAMALAN TWIST" and while I agree that the twist here was a little bit clunky in its handling and presentation, the actual story reasons for the twist kinda make sense and button up a few of the plot holes I was wondering about. I don't wanna spoil it for anyone, but while it definitely was a tad clunky in the way it was done, and that knocked the movie down a peg or two, it wasn't like The Village, where the twist made almost no narrative sense. People claiming Bruce Willis' sleepwalking ruins the movie....and like, (a) Earth to...everyone, Bruce Willis sucks and doesn't care now and (b) Shyamalan was REALLY smart in his use of Willis' character and got the absolute MOST out of disinterested Bruce that he could. I'm also surprised critics, of all groups, aren't lauding the film more for its striking imagery and cinematography. Its use of camera angles and some really nice shot compositions was fairly striking, and I was taken aback a bit by how effectively Shyamalan maximized a minimal budget. And then there's the people lamenting that it's talky and not action-packed....HAVE THESE PEOPLE SEEN UNBREAKABLE AND SPLIT?!?!?!

I dunno, it's a VERY flawed movie in some ways, but I'm EASILY at a 3.5 outta 5 and I'd personally probably push it to a 4 because I was just really entertained the whole time and McAvoy's performance and the directing really pushed it to that next level for me.

[canofhumdingers]

Godzilla (1998) - I haven’t watched this in at least 15 years. Since Netflix had it I decided to give it another shot. It’s just a terrible movie (shocker, right?). I actually might enjoy it as a corny 90’s action-disaster spectacle ala Twister, Volcano, Independance Day, etc. except somehow this is so bad it nearly feels like a big budget parody of the genre. A significant part of that has to be the casting. Jean Reno and Hank Azaria do a decent job, but everyone else is absolutely terrible. And the effects are just awful. I mean, yeah, the cgi is obvious; but it’s more than that. The physics are just all wrong in so many ways (especially with anything that flies) it was just constantly taking me out of the movie. Ah well, at least now I won’t be tempted to waste money on it when I see the BD in the bargain bin.

[jellydonut25]

I think I'd get a twinge of nostalgic enjoyment out of it if it weren't ninety years long, because it definitely does harken back to a bygone day of sets and practical effects mixed with CGI and the possibilities we all thought that would bring rather than where we are of just, essentially, photo realistic cartoons. There's some camp and some charm, and the set up is actually solid, but the middle hour, or two hours or 15 years or however long the middle of the movie is, is just SOUL-CRUSHINGLY boring.

[klen7]

Velvet Buzzsaw - Dan Gilroy, writer/director of Nightcrawler reunites with Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo for a horror(?) comedy(?) flick about the world of modern art... it's odd... not in that its weird, but the execution seems to to bounce back and forth from being high caliber to complete schlock. It almost feels like that the horror segments were added in by a different director. i wonder if there is an earlier cut of this film before all the special effects that is a better flick. The cynical satire feels a bit shallow (intentional?) and a far cry from Nightcrawler in such a way that I worry revisiting Nightcrawler after seeing this will diminish NC in someway.

[Dr Kain]

Captain America 1 - This is one of those movies that I feel improves with every viewing as it gets more and more enjoyable each time I see it. Not to mention there are things that I never realized before like Dum Dum Duncan is played by the dude who does Damien Darhk in the CW DC shows. I can't believe I hadn't noticed that before. Nor that Jenna Coleman is the girl with Bucky at the World's Fair place. WOW! Hugo Weaving is great. Chris Evans is fantastic. Well, they're all great. A 9/10.

The Winter Soldier - Still my absolute favorite MCU film at this point. It's just perfection. 10/10.

[EricDent]

The LEGO Movie 2: The 2nd Part
While not quite as fun as the first, it was still very touching.
I got kinda sad remembering the times I missed playing with my sister.
Though she was more into dolls than LEGO.

Gonna try to see Alita Battle Angel on Monday or Tuesday.

[lhb412]

Alita: Battle Angel

You've heard right, this one is the real deal: a true live action anime that nails the combination of soapy melodrama, crazy genre concepts, and outlandish action. It all makes for a movie that feels very different from your typical superhero movie or the like. The moment Christoph Waltz pulls out that ridiculous gigantic laser pickaxe weapon you know you're in a manga land!

The best part of Alita is Alita herself, which is an incredible testament to both the actress and the special effects artists.

[Dr Kain]

I'll rent Battle Angel when it comes to video.

Civil War - The end to the greatest super hero trilogy thus far. It gives an excellent conclusion to the Winter Soldier story that began in the previous film while also adding on a whole new set of layers that would go to shake up the MCU. My only complaints really dive down with Zemo's lack of a costume and the huge ass fonts used to tell us the locations the movie was at. Other than that, a near perfect spy thriller with a super hero film within it. Not to mention it gave us the greatest live action version of Spider-Man. A solid 9/10.

[klen7]

i was planning to skip A:BA, but the fan response has been really strong. I'll have to find a way to catch it

[Dr Kain]

Resident Evil Degeneration - The lip synch and CGI are quite mediocre, but as a first attempt at a canonical CGI Resident Evil movie, it isn't bad. It has some cool moments on it and knows what Resident Evil is supposed to be about. Overall, I give it a nice 7/10. Not stunning, but not crap either.

[Dr Kain]

Just got back from seeing Gundam NT. I have to say that this is easily my least favorite of the more recent UC stories they've done. It's just way too convoluted for its own good and relies on too many flashbacks to moves its plot along. I didn't hate it, there was a lot of I loved and Zoltan is my favorite character of the film, but the pacing was just all over the place as if they crammed three 45 minute OVAs into one film, especially the final battle, which felt very rushed.

[jellydonut25]

Happy Death Day 2 U - I really liked the first one a LOT and this one has some of that charm (thanks to Jessica Rothe) and a good bit of creativity, but it also has a few twists that don't make sense or get properly paid off, and a comedy sequence that is so painfully unfunny and out of the movie's character it feels like it was done by a totally different team. Overall, I found it to be a decent little diversion for 100 minutes, but would have been better off waiting to catch it on NetfluluPrime. 3/5.

[O.Supreme]

[EricDent]

Saw Alita Battle Angel, and I thought it was really well done.
Must say that Jennifer Connelly is looking very nice for 48 years old (especially in a certain bedroom scene).
The girl that played Alita is cute (even with the large eyes, which weren't that distracting).
Only small problem is the kinda open-ended ending, and unless China helps a LOT, it probably won't get a sequel.

[Dr Kain]

Batman Subzero - Nowhere near as good as the best of the series, but still okay. 7/10

Shadow of a Doubt - Not only is this one of Hitchcock's best, but it's also one of the best Film Noirs out there. 10/10

[Dr Kain]

Captain America 1990 - Oh god was this painful to sit through, yet, it isn't the worst movie based on a Marvel property ever, so I guess it has that going for it. I don't know what the hell they were going for with Red Skull, but it didn't work. Be it the bullshit origin they gave him, the horrible looking red skull-like head thing, to him becoming Jigsaw from Punisher, he was a wreck from start to finish. What's even worse is how the film had no sense of pacing at all as it made Cap look like a blundering idiot during WWII. The man was defeated on his very first mission. Wow, some great super hero there. At least he was wearing a costume that was accurate to the comics minus the chain mail, so I have to give them credit for that. The rest of the film was a mess, especially its horrid acting and editing. Overall, like I said, there has been worse, but I have no idea what the "OH GODZILLA! WHAT TERRIBLE LANGUAGE!" they were even thinking. They couldn't even get Steven being a New Yorker right. Ugh. 4/10 because I'm generous.

[lhb412]

Saw Alita again. Still dope.

[jellydonut25]

Been trying to clean up a couple of my cinematic blind spots, so this year my New Year's Resolution was to watch Miyazaki and Kurosawa.

So far -
Kurosawa:
Sanshiro Sugata - Meh. 2.5/5
The Most Beautiful - Yuck. 1/5
Sanshiro Sugata 2 - Eh. 2/5
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail - Decent enough, and obviously fast-paced. 3/5
No Regrets for Our Youth - This was okay, but I felt the censorship and the heavy Occupation influence. There was a good movie in here, I think but it got butchered. 2.5/5
One Wonderful Sunday - Really good. Bordering on great. I think a rewatch would help me pin this one down more. The first one I'd definitely seek out for a rewatch. 3.5/5
Drunken Angel - Another that was really good and bordering on great. I think it could have been a smidge better to push it into greatness, but I really liked it. I guess there's like 20 minutes of footage missing. I don't know what that footage is, but I assume it would have pushed it over the hump. 3.5/5

Miyazaki:
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind - Amazing. This blew me away. 4.5/5
Castle in the Sky - Also amazing. Loved it. 4.5/5
My Neighbor Totoro - I liked it. I didn't love it. I think I might be a smidge too old coming to it, but I'll be darned if this didn't feel like the Japanese Winning the Pooh and something I'd like to revisit. 3.5/5
Kiki's Delivery Service - Not a big fan. I appreciated it, and how innocent it was and how sweet and adorable and yet how it also managed to have an underlying adult themed subtext about coming of age and stuff, but it didn't have enough stakes to all click for me. It was okay. 3/5.

I also watched Grave of the Fireflies which is bananasandwich amazing (and almost unbearably depressing). 5/5.


Oh and t'other day my daughter wanted to watch The Little Mermaid and I was floored by the animation. I really loved the movie, maybe more than I ever had before. 4.5/5

[Dr Kain]

Lady and the Tramp - I haven't watched this one in 25 years, but I really enjoyed it still. It may not be anywhere near the best of the best, but it is still a really solid piece of entertainment. 9/10.

[Dr Kain]

Avengers - Still a fantastic movie. 10/10

[mirrorman147]

[mirrorman147]

[mirrorman147]

Re-watching some early Marvel on DVD recently:

Captain America - the first Avenger
The Avengers
Thor .. you know, the first one.
GoTG

AND

At the movies : Alita - Battle Angel. I really enjoyed it, and found it quite sympathetic to the anime movie (haven't read the manga).

[EricDent]

Dai Ma Jin Strikes Back (the one with the little kids climbing the mountain).
One thing to note, don't piss off Daimajin by killing his hawk!