Recently watched movies!

[lhb412]

Saw My Neighbor Totoro in the theater (the first movie in Fathom's Ghibli Fest which will show another Miyazaki flick every month for six months), It's kind of amazing to witness kids reacting to Totoro and the Catbus.

Never noticed the Three Billy Goats Gruff book cover at the end: Totoro under the bridge!

[Dr Kain]

The Raid - Well this was interesting to finally see after all of the comparison videos and articles I saw/read about it and Dredd. I won't say it was a better movie, but it was equally enjoyable. The fight choreography was pretty damn awesome and the soundtrack kicked a lot of ass. Unfortunately, there wasn't much in the way of character development and the main character had his shields on to the max. I mean, the dude got shot at, got stabbed at, got his face punched in and all he received were two cuts to signify he went through hell. The twist at the end was kind of expected, but the results afterwards were hysterical. All in all, I'm going to give it an 8/10.

The Bye Bye Man - The first 10 minutes were actually quite solid and then it all fell apart from there. In fact, the entire movie felt like an extended opening prologue to a horror movie that never happened. There were some really interesting concepts to be found, but nothing was ever explored into it with detail. It also doesn't help that the characters were devoid of any emotion whatsoever to the point that I couldn't figure out if they were whispering on purpose to hide their creaking accents or if they were just some corner store rental actors. Either way, the movie promises a lot and when it ended all I was left with was a giant "THAT'S IT?!" coming out of my mouth. A shame too because in the year that we got the likes of Get Out and Split, this should have been so much more. I give it a 5/10.

Rings - Holy christ. The Bye Bye Man looks like a masterpiece compared to this borefest. There was not a lick of suspense or tension to be found at all. Hell, I would have even taken a god damned gore porn movie at this point. There was absolutely nothing horror about this movie other than how boring it was. The actors were so one dimensional and flat that they clearly chose this movie because they are desperate to be noticed. This is easily to 2017 what The Darkness was to 2016. I guess my only positive is that at least it wasn't as haphazardly edited like Resident Evil 6. Because of that, I'm going to give this movie a generous 3/10.

[lhb412]

Drunken Master

Made just after Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, this film doubles down on the things the previous film did, with essentially the same cast (headlined by Jackie Chan as the student and Yuen Siu-tien as the eccentric master) and way more fighting, way more humor, and way more crazy kung fu. The plot concerns concerns Wong Fei-hung, a traditional Chinese folk hero here portrayed as mischievous young troublemaker. After Wong is involved in a series of minor mishaps and outright catastrophes (some avoidable, some not) his dad sends him away to train with Beggar So for a year, where the old master of drunk kung fu puts him through a rigorous and strange training regime. Add in a couple of bad guys and you've got yourself a movie.

Wow, is Jackie Chan gross in this: throughout the film he's spitting, vomiting, picking his nose, and that's not even counting the slobbering drunkenness he needs to achieve mastery of drunk kung fu!

[jellydonut25]

[lhb412]

Okja

Bong Joon-ho directs a story about a South Korean farm girl named Mija who discovers that her best friend, the eponymous genetically engineered super pig, is just part of a massive publicity stunt to promote a new kind of meat and give it a environmentally friendly, humane veneer. When Okja is shipped to America, Mija finds herself pulled in two directions by a group of animal rights activists on one side and a corporation set on using her as part of their marketing on the other. She just wants Okja back.

It's one part E.T., one part Babe, dash of Miyazaki and Mighty Joe Young, combined with a documentary on food production. Also, Bong pitches his actors more theatrical than naturalistic and I like that overall.

The movie has been called heavy handed, but it's hard to find anything unfair about the movie's presentation of the livestock industry. I see pens and slaughterhouses much worse than the depressing/scary ones in the film all the time here in the rural South. I also liked that the animal rights activists are portrayed as basically heroic, but it's members flawed and somewhat crazy, and the workers for the 'villainous' corporation all just seem like they're desperately trying to not ruffle feathers and keep their jobs, which is super relatable. The true villian of the movie is the depressing banality of conveience.

I know Netflix has made big movies before, and I know Stranger Things was so big last summer the phenomenon felt like a blockbuster movie, but this feels like the first blockbuster Netflix movie.

[lhb412]

Baby Driver is a perfect movie. I mean, I'm sure it has flaws like all films, but that part of the brain shuts down when watching this bangin', action packed movie music video. It's pure cinema in the same way Fury Road was (what is it about chase movies?).

I don't know Edgar Wright, but after being a fan of his for over a decade I like to think I have a teeny bit of insight into the guy, and I think Baby Driver is practically a joyride through the man's brain and everything that comes with that. Baby shares DNA with all of Wright's previous portags, but Scott Pilgrim and the various Simon Peggs carried their own baggage into the movie in a way Baby does not. Baby is pure. Baby is Edgar Wright's idea of a cool, wish-fulfillment character and it's a beautiful thing. I'm reminded of Porco Rosso, the movie where Hayao Miyazaki decided to make a movie for an audience of one, himself. Miyazaki later called that a folly, but I think that's great and Baby Driver is great and go see Baby Driver!

Oh, there's a moment in the film where Baby's having his first conversation with his love interest Debora and they're talking about music and he mispronounces the name of the band "T. Rex" and it's a specifically relatable moment for anyone who loves something and read its name a million times but has never had to actually pronounce it in front of another human being and when you do you screw it up and have that momentary feeling that you're a total fraud.

[Dr Kain]

Assassin's Creed aka QTE Cutscenes The Movie - Remember how the most exciting parts of the Assassin's Creed series were the areas that took place in the real world? How the games really had you wishing you could play the vast majority in the modern day instead of some lousy past crap? Well we finally got exactly what we were asking. An utter masterpiece full of little to no character development, forced romances, and we only had to deal with the past stuff maybe a quarter of the movie's run time. Oh it was so glorious. We got some truly outstanding dinner scene that was a vital element to the film's narrative. I also loved the part where they completed screwed up their own mythos by having the apple hidden away for centuries instead of being used by Jefferson, Rasptuin, Tesla, and the like. Not to mention that Juno was nowhere to be found. Truly this is the best video game movie ever.

Seriously though, this movie, while not as bad as it could be, it still sucked. There was one character that was completely pointless as they made it seem like he was going to be important and he is killed off like nothing. Not to mention there was a plot dealing with Cal's dad that went nowhere. The actors also seemed quite bored with their roles. In addition, I didn't realize Spain back then was 90% white. It didn't help that the chase scenes went on for way too long and these have got to be the worst assassins ever. They never actually did anything in stealth. WTF?

Overall, I give this mediocre snoozefest a 5/10. Please, just stop with the video game adaptation. You have proven that you can't make them work.

[Dr Kain]

Underworld Blood Wars - Despite the fact that this series gets worse with each installment, there is one thing I have never been able to call this series, and that is boring. Well now that all changes. Blood Wars has absolutely no sense of what pacing is as if the movie was cut from 3 hours to 90 minutes. The problem is, there isn't enough action to call it an action movie, but the drama is so incomprehensible that you can't even call it a drama. This movie is basically just a bunch of scenes that were ducktaped together so haphazardly that it vexes the viewer to even understand anything that is happening.

I feel like I just watched three movies crammed into one because there were like 3 vampire factions fighting amongst each other along with a werewolf faction that was created off of one of the previous films' actors being killed off screen (so they pretty much Alien Covenanted himi) without giving any moments of breathing room for the audience to process exactly what is going on. It just goes by the motions as if Sony needed to get this film out because they spent so much money to gather these actors that appear disinterested in their roles. It also doesn't help that Kate Beckinsale's body language comes off as her also being bored out of her mind when filming this one. They need to just end this series now before it becomes as lifeless as Viktor's corpse. I give this snoozefest a 3/10.

[klen7]

^ I felt it was an improvement over the last one, and most of the issues i had stemmed from threads from the previous film

[Dr Kain]

Eh, Blood Wars is worse because they Oh, and like I said, I was bored out of my mind. The fourth movie was forgettable, but at least it wasn't boring.

Spider-Man Homecoming - 10/10

[Dr Kain]

The Belko Experiment - If you've seen Battle Royale, you know the plot of this one. Except, unlike Battle Royale, there is no reason to care about any of the characters as only a handful of them even show a piece of a personality that is irrelevant since they are going to die anyway. The ending twist is so bad that it would even have M Night Shyamalan facepalming. Finally, this movie has no idea what it wants to be. It has some comedic bits in it, but it is way too serious to be a comedy. However, it is way too silly to be a drama. Thus, the entire experience is as cold as the bodies left behind. Skip it and go watch Battle Royale instead. A 6/10.

[Dr Kain]

Rise of the Planet of the Apes - This is actually the first time I'm watching this movie since Dawn hit theaters and I still enjoyed it, but not as much as I used to. Perhaps it is because I am tired, or maybe it is because Dawn is so vastly superior, but this was kind of slow moving. Take off 10 minutes and it will be vastly improved. At least as improved as a movie featuring Franco's sleepy face can be. Seriously though, it is a really good start to what should be a great trilogy despite its flaws. I give it a 7/10, which I think is a point lower than what I gave it years ago.

[Dr Kain]

Baby Driver - Awwwwwwwww, isn't that cute? Edgar Wright is bringing out his inner Tarantino! In a world where heist movies can be hit or miss, Edgar Wright tries to bring his filmmaking brilliance to the genre and almost succeeds. I say almost, but only because this is an extremely flawed movie that slows down during its second act to force a romantic relationship we didn't need or want before we get another pulse pounding third act. Nevertheless, this is one terrific movie that is extremely well shot, has some truly oustanding dialog and acting, especially from Keven Spacey and Jamie Foxx, and takes some unexpected turns. The action is great, the soundtrack kicks a lot of ass and the comedic moments hit, but again, the romance... ugh. In the end, I give this movie an 8/10 and it is currently one of the best movies of the year. Don't let my negatives impact your decision making on it as we need more movies made like this so we can stop the constant flooding of sequels and remakes.

[klen7]

^ i WISH Tarantino would make another movie like BD. Not a fan at all of Django or H8.

[lhb412]

[Dr Kain]

[klen7]

Things i didn't like:
3 hour film with one set piece
Rape story
No likeable characters
Channing Tatum miscast
Format snobbery (only can see the whole movie in 70mm)
Michael Madsen's acting
Inconsistent narration
Heavy handed racism
Pacing during the first half of the film

[Dr Kain]

[klen7]

^ re: Rape - The story Samuel L Jackson's character tells to the old man about torturing his son until he was so desperate and in pain that he fellated his torturer for a blanket... but in the context of the film its ok because racism..

re: Racism - i think its important not to skirt the issue, but the key word i used was "heavy handed".. the way it is portrayed in the film is just as over the top as the violence but more pervasive throughout.

re: Pacing - we clearly disagree, this felt like a 3 hour film especially the first half.

re: OB - i didn't even remember this character, had to look him up and still dont remember him

re: Narration - Narrator shows up randomly to explain the film halfway through

The film isnt terrible, i just don't have any desire to revisit it unlike Inglorious Basterds, which i truly enjoy

[Dr Kain]

The narrator showed up to explain half the film because that is the spot where the movie came back from its intermission in theaters. I do agree that it seems odd to still have it there despite there being no intermission on the video release, but then if they didn't include it, people would be complaining about it.


Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Just brilliant, simply brilliant. I wish the people behind the Bayformers series would look at this as proof that you don't need to have a movie with 100% humans in it to have an emotional story. 10/10.

[lhb412]

I Am Not Your Negro

This is a great documentary. It's about writer/social critic/civil rights activist James Baldwin but it's in his own words (at least his own words as read by Samuel L. Jackson); before he died he was planning on writing a book where he reminisces on the lives and deaths of MLK, Malcom X, and Medgar Evers who he all knew, and most of the text of the movie is just this unfinished manuscript or proposal which touches on the three men but kinda tends more towards the conversational and serves a springboard for Baldwin's own ideas and history. They use a lot of clips from movies and pop culture of the time to illustrate what he's talking about, like how when he's talking about the perceived danger black men pose towards white women (causing him to loose a childhood friend) the scene from King Kong where Fay Wray is abducted and placed by the natives on Kong's alter plays. The entire movie is like that, and only interrupted by clips of Baldwin in interviews chosen to elucidate some of the points we get to in the manuscript as well as to show us clips of the man in the flesh.

Dracula's Daughter

I like this more and more each time I see it. An underrated Universal Horror, and Gloria Holden makes for a great female monster - the only other main one besides The Bride of Frankenstein. Those the Countess Zaleska may not be as iconic as The Bride, she may very well be just as influential because of all the other female vampires that followed in her wake.

[Dr Kain]

I watched War in Space. It was kind of meh.

[lhb412]

Went and saw Baby Driver again. Still amazing, probably gonna be my top film of the year (with Get Out just under it).

The courtroom interpreter at the end was Walter Hill (director of The Warriors, The Driver, Streets of Fire, and 48 Hours), who Edgar Wright is a big fan of and whose films were a big influence on Baby Driver. Come to think of it, The Warriors and Baby Driver would make a nice double feature. Anyone ever create double features in their head? I just thought the other day that Phantasm and House ('Hausu') would be a good one.

[Dr Kain]

Never seen THe Warriors, but I do think Get Out is better than Baby Driver.

[lhb412]

^Don't go for the Blu-Ray for The Warriors btw: it only has the '00s director's cut where he added really bad animated comic book panel scene transitions (that the director wanted to do back in the '70s but couldn't). The HD digital version offered everywhere seems to be the original theatrical version. I know the Amazon Prime version is, at least.

Hopefully it'll be rereleased as a better version on Blu-Ray. It's a cult film totally in like with Shout Factory's output, for example.