Rate the last movie you've seen

[bassman]

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom I enjoyed it, but it definitely has it’s issues. Too long, feels like two seperate movies, silly plot lines, etc. But with that being said, I applaud Bayona for trying to bring something different to the franchise. Pratt’s comedic moments seem to be a little more tamed this time, and Howard has a little more of a purpose. I was really taken back by an old school, awesome actor being in the film and wasn’t seen in any trailers, iirc. There are also clear-cut villains, whereas the first film in this new trilogy was kind of a rehash of Jurassic Park, and more about getting out. This one is definitely following the evil Hammond/Ingen story. Even diving into some surprising advances that they’ve made with the cloning techniques... It’s a fun movie to see in theaters with a full crowd. It definitely has problems, but it’s an enjoyable film. Or two films, I’d say. one is a Jurassic movie, and the other half is more of a horror house kind of deal. I’m curious to see how they tie the trilogy up because this one left the door wide open into an area we haven’t seen with the Jurassic films. And in case you are excited about the return of Ian Malcolm, he has small bookend scenes, and that’s it. The last one has importance though. I’d definitely say see it in a theater. Not sure how it’ll play at home. I’d recommend it. - - - Updated - - - The Staircase This is an episodic documentary series on Netflix rather than a film, but I’ve just finished the series and thought I’d share. I highly, highly recommend this documentary. Really top notch stuff. Taking place over the course of fifteen or so years, it follows the story of a man convicted of murder after his wife is found dead at the bottom of a staircase with major head wounds and covered in blood. It starts with the night she died and follows through the trials with twists and turns that are as gripping as any thriller film you could imagine. I hear it’s won many awards and it certainly deserves them. There are some quite graphic images of the deceased, so just giving warning in case anyone watches and is bothered by that sort of thing. But it’s all done in a really professional, investigative sort of fashion. There are a total of thirteen episodes, each one running around an hour. That sounds like a lot, but it grabs you from the beginning, never lets you go, and you’ll be through it before you even know it. Again, I can’t recommend this one enough. Netflix really hit the jackpot with this one. Watch it!

[shootemindehead]

A thirteen episode documentary about a staircase?

[EvilNed]

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom I enjoyed it, but it definitely has it’s issues. Too long, feels like two seperate movies, silly plot lines, etc. But with that being said, I applaud Bayona for trying to bring something different to the franchise. Pratt’s comedic moments seem to be a little more tamed this time, and Howard has a little more of a purpose. I was really taken back by an old school, awesome actor being in the film and wasn’t seen in any trailers, iirc. There are also clear-cut villains, whereas the first film in this new trilogy was kind of a rehash of Jurassic Park, and more about getting out. This one is definitely following the evil Hammond/Ingen story. Even diving into some surprising advances that they’ve made with the cloning techniques... It’s a fun movie to see in theaters with a full crowd. It definitely has problems, but it’s an enjoyable film. Or two films, I’d say. one is a Jurassic movie, and the other half is more of a horror house kind of deal. I’m curious to see how they tie the trilogy up because this one left the door wide open into an area we haven’t seen with the Jurassic films. And in case you are excited about the return of Ian Malcolm, he has small bookend scenes, and that’s it. The last one has importance though. I’d definitely say see it in a theater. Not sure how it’ll play at home. I’d recommend it. - - - Updated - - - The Staircase This is an episodic documentary series on Netflix rather than a film, but I’ve just finished the series and thought I’d share. I highly, highly recommend this documentary. Really top notch stuff. Taking place over the course of fifteen or so years, it follows the story of a man convicted of murder after his wife is found dead at the bottom of a staircase with major head wounds and covered in blood. It starts with the night she died and follows through the trials with twists and turns that are as gripping as any thriller film you could imagine. I hear it’s won many awards and it certainly deserves them. There are some quite graphic images of the deceased, so just giving warning in case anyone watches and is bothered by that sort of thing. But it’s all done in a really professional, investigative sort of fashion. There are a total of thirteen episodes, each one running around an hour. That sounds like a lot, but it grabs you from the beginning, never lets you go, and you’ll be through it before you even know it. Again, I can’t recommend this one enough. Netflix really hit the jackpot with this one. Watch it! A thirteen episode documentary about a staircase? Actually it's three seasons. Netflix only produced the third season of 3 episodes. The bulk of the series are the first 8 episodes which is a fairly classic true crime documentary about the death of a woman and the prosecution of her widowed husband as a potential murderer. Then season 2, filmed 9 years later picks up the ball and answers some unanswered questions. I've yet to see these latest Netflix episodes which again are 5 years apart from season 2 (and thus some 14 years removed from the first season). Anyway it's one of the best documentary series I've ever seen. It's really captivating.

[beat_truck]

Arachnophobia (1990) Jeff Daniels, John Goodman 6.5/10 Not a bad way to waste an hour and a half, depending on how much spiders bother you.

[bassman]

Did Ned and I just agree on something?!? Arachnophobia (1990) Jeff Daniels, John Goodman 6.5/10 Not a bad way to waste an hour and a half, depending on how much spiders bother you. I used to love this movie when it was released but haven’t even thought about it until recently when it was announced that a remake is on the way. About the only thing I can remember all these years later is laughing quite hard at John Goodman’s character. Going to have to give it a watch soon!

[beat_truck]

I used to love this movie when it was released but haven’t even thought about it until recently when it was announced that a remake is on the way. About the only thing I can remember all these years later is laughing quite hard at John Goodman’s character. Going to have to give it a watch soon! Another fucking remake. Unbelievable.

[EvilNed]

Did Ned and I just agree on something?!? Haha, just kidding. The Staircase is SHIT, it reminds me of DOG FECES left in the african sun for weeks on end!!!

[bassman]

Haha, just kidding. The Staircase is SHIT, it reminds me of DOG FECES left in the african sun for weeks on end!!! Attaboy. Gotta keep up appearances and all

[MinionZombie]

Easy Rider - third time watching this movie. The first time I saw it was back in my early teens, so I wasn't the right audience for it at all. I saw it again several years ago and got more out of it, and this time again I got more out of it. There's still a few segments that feel a little bit flabby, but it was interesting as this time the small-minded small town folks who attack in the middle of the night and then at the end really disturbed me. Those parts of the movie hit out strongest this time, very un-nerving. Murder on the Orient Express - the new one. I'd never seen any Poirot stories before, so this was the first one I've ever seen. I enjoyed it. Starry cast, good performances. A few days ago I had a grindhouse double bill of Doctor Butcher M.D. and The Last House On The Left. With the former it's clear that the original 'Zombie Holocaust' version of the film is superior, but Doctor Butcher M.D. had the far superior advertising campaign and title. With the latter I noticed how rough the film is in terms of editing and I noticed more their relative lack of filmmaking knowledge at the time (something Craven and Cunningham have both said themselves). It's interesting with LHOTL, as it's a bit tame by today's standards for the most part, so all these stories of how much it enraged audiences in 1972 seem so stunning. Seeing glimpses of the original script in the extras, though ... blimey ... I can't even imagine what the reaction would have been to that version had it ever been made. It was interesting to note that Craven spoke about how they were initially going into it, on a conscious level, as a bit of a lark - but their outlook on the production changed as they filmed the more controversial scenes and the subconscious aspects of the film (e.g. Vietnam) presented themselves.

[bassman]

Westworld Season Two I don’t believe I enjoyed it quite as much as the first season, but still a very enjoyable extended cinematic experience. Nolan and Joy again put multiple time frames to use, though this time it feels more trivial. I won’t give away the core plot for spoilers, but if you’re familiar with some of their previous work, you know that there are clues the viewer can look for as the show progresses. Said clues are pretty evident in this season and feel more of a gimmick after the success of the first season. Hopefully for Season Three they don’t rely on these same type of finale twists again.

[MinionZombie]

Westworld Season Two I don’t believe I enjoyed it quite as much as the first season, but still a very enjoyable extended cinematic experience. Nolan and Joy again put multiple time frames to use, though this time it feels more trivial. I won’t give away the core plot for spoilers, but if you’re familiar with some of their previous work, you know that there are clues the viewer can look for as the show progresses. Said clues are pretty evident in this season and feel more of a gimmick after the success of the first season. Hopefully for Season Three they don’t rely on these same type of finale twists again. I enjoyed season 2 more than season 1. It took me until episode 6 of the first season before I settled into it as I felt so kept at a distance up to that point. This time around I had the benefit of the previous season to build upon, sure, but I also felt they dug down into the characters more this season - indeed, the episode that centred on Akecheta was the best of the season. I got really invested in that one. Early in this second season I felt like Dolores was skewing a bit towards 'power fantasy', but I was glad to see that in the second half of the season we saw some of the consequences of her actions, although I always seemed to conntect more with Maeve amongst the female cast members. Horses for courses, I suppose, as to who you connect with personally. Naturally, the likes of Bernard, Teddy, and The Man In Black are all very intriguing and keep me hooked, and Clementine has always been a very arresting character - such a wonderful face and pair of eyes - really ethereal and captivating. I would hope that they try not to get too clever in season 3, especially with layers of time, as it's been done enough on the show, really. I'd prefer to peel back some layers gradually over the course of the season, rather than waiting until the last 2 or 3 episodes to see things unveiled in one big glut. So yeah, I was much more comfortable with the second season and enjoyed it quite a bit. Looking forward to season 3.

[bassman]

The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, and The Matrix Revolutions I found the ultimate Blu ray collection on sale, so I decided to give the trilogy another viewing, as I haven’t seen them in quite a few years. I’ve not seen the 4K collection, but the video and audio quality on the Blu Rays is phenomenal. The original film is probably the least of the three when it comes to video quality, but it’s still an amazing image. It may have something to do with the sequels having higher budgets and that ended up with better film/cinematography? The original is of course the best of the three, but I’ve found that I enjoy the sequels more and more with the passage of time. If nothing else, I have to give the Wachowski’s respect for expanding the mythology of the first film rather than playing it safe and simply remaking the original, which a lot of sequels tend to do. Even if the sequels don’t quite live up to the very high bar set by the original, the entire series still stands the test of time as one of the greatest entries in the history of science fiction and action. This Ultimate Collection set, with amazing picture/audio quality, hours upon hours of special features, and even The Animatrix(which I’m not a fan of), is highly recommended. A top-notch collection release.

[EvilNed]

I also enjoy the sequels for much the same reasons you mention. If I were to rewatch them now I'm sure I'd think some of the scenes involving Neo, Morpheus and the Oracle are a bit too pretentious. But overall I find that the sequels are unmatched in their cinematography. Every shot is perfectly shot. Every pan exactly calculated, every edit deliberate. It's like watching cinematic porn. Much of the CGI has aged badly tho.

[bassman]

Indeed, some of the lesser CGI really stood out to me with these HD presentations. Particularly the CG stunt models for Neo and Agent Smith in Reloaded. Whenever they would transition from the real actors into these CG models, it was really jarring. Almost like seeing a character go from live action into hand-drawn animation.

[EvilNed]

Indeed, some of the lesser CGI really stood out to me with these HD presentations. Particularly the CG stunt models for Neo and Agent Smith in Reloaded. Whenever they would transition from the real actors into these CG models, it was really jarring. Almost like seeing a character go from live action into hand-drawn animation. Exactly, that's what I'm thinking off. Detailing clothes is notoriously difficult and you can tell in this. It's the same in the Lord of the Rings films. Legolas' cloak isn't fooling anyone.