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Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
But it's quite sterile and the ambiance is gone
It's garbage now...and you're right...a sterile corporate hellhole although in its defense... fits perfectly in today's world.
It's why I never really get excited about an upcoming movie...I know I'm not going. If theaters were like the old days, I would've been first in line for Top Gun.
I should probably go one more time...maybe the next Mission Impossible in IMAX.
problem with those films exclusively on streamers is that the quality sucks. It's one step up on direct to dvd stuff. Try looking at some of those Netflix exclusive movies and the summaries. Some of the movies sound really cookie cutter and alike
This is happening on all the platforms. If a big movie comes out...a great example is that shit horror film The Nun a few years ago, Z movie companies will try to capitalize with similar titles and cover art.
A few months ago on one of those platforms I saw a movie listed where the cover was clearly trying to rip off Mission Impossible.
I just found it...
The China stuff is also kinda unbelievable... in that they are selling out to an awful communist regieme that has increasingly become intolerant. It's all about money/bottom line now and nothing else.
I don't even know exactly when it happened (2010s) but it's blatant now.
I see superhero American fanboys on Reddit bragging about the Chinese box office records....as if this is something great.
It's funny yet sad how Hollywood will spoon feed us a bunch of nonsense, go political with cries of racism aimed at anything remotely on the right...yet lighten the skin tone of black actors on movie posters in China because they're not very fond of black people.
The industry catering to China literally alters the plots of films. In action movies, you're not allowed to make China an enemy. If you don't worship China in the film, they're either neutral or you don't mention them.
Look at the Red Dawn remake. Our adversary was supposed to be China....but since the industry only cares about China..it had to be changed to North Korea.
Imagine an alternate timeline of the Cold War where all those amazing films weren't allowed to show the Soviet Union in a negative light...and it had to be North Korea, Iran, or some random or fictitious country.
That's the reality of today's world.
Chopping Mall was a fun film I saw a few years ago. They probably could have done more with mall aspect but it was fine for what it was and I enjoyed it.
I need to watch it again. Haven't watched it in eons and I think it's on Tubi.
Funny thing...Chopping Mall is set in the Eating Raoul "universe".
Executive Decision - This was way too long for the story it's telling. You could easily trim 20-30 minutes of fat. One of the only positives is how Seagal's role is so small. I don't even know why Halle Berry is in this... it's a fairly small role where she does very little. This role should've went to an up and coming actress instead.
Speed - This really was a killer movie. It has everything you want in an action movie. Until watching it again I had forgot how huge this movie really was...and how Sandra Bullock's career instantly shot up into the stratosphere. She could do no wrong at that point and was so we'll liked, even the collosal blunder known as Speed 2 didn't slow her down.
It's unfortunate that we never got a proper sequel. The moment that Keanu turned his nose up at that shit script is when they should've went back to the drawing board instead of proceeding full speed ahead with an obvious flop.
Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
2012 is when it happened. The world did indeed "end" on that date. I moved back to my home town that year and when I met people I knew a few years later it was as if all of them had adapted to the "new world" and there was some problems communicating and I even lost some friends over it. I'm surprised there is not more talk about it.
Before that the process had still begun but there were still old school stuff going on.
Moonfall is a case in point. If that movie was made ten years ago it would be much the same movie. Empty, seen it before disaster fare with a diverse cast. Now though it's like a crack addict who can no longer get the same high so he starts shooting it raw into his veins. In this movie every background character has to be black. Like "damn, our leads are too white, how do we compensate?". So you go into a hospital and the lead doctor is black and the smartest guy in the room. You go to the white house and joint chiefs are all white, except for one black guy who is in charge and the only guy with lines. The entire movie is like this all the time. As if somebody in production went over the script and circled out all the characters they could turn into black people because a movie has to have that now. Turning a career criminal like George Floyd into a national hero is part of this psychosis. It has gone way beyond trying to be diverse and represent everybody, it's like an unhinged obsession. I get religious connotations from it, as if we are this close to putting up bon fires again.
Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
It's garbage now...and you're right...a sterile corporate hellhole although in its defense... fits perfectly in today's world.
I just shake my head because I have nephews who are born in the 2000s and they will never know the cultural impact (or maybe they don't care) of the cinema. A lot of the older theaters were in these building that were around since the 1930s (or insert decade here) and had been through a lot of events. I just remember going into one of those theaters and just feeling a small connection to history. There's just something special about just going into one of those older theaters. I can't fully explain this in words. But you always mention our culture getting dumbed down or lost etc...and this is one of them.
Oh, theaters used to have a little video game area where you could either hang out with friends or just kill time. Those are pretty much gone now in favor of more diverse food options (overpriced food).
This isn't only on theaters too. I went to a retailer (cough...Target) to kill some time and beat the heat today. Holy shit, I was depressed at what they turned that store into. It was clean, clinical, depressing and pretty empty. It made me think back and miss the Woolworth's near the complex where I used to live in the 80s. It was close by and sometimes my grandma would just browse.
It's funny yet sad how Hollywood will spoon feed us a bunch of nonsense, go political with cries of racism aimed at anything remotely on the right...yet lighten the skin tone of black actors on movie posters in China because they're not very fond of black people.
LOL, not very fond of black people. You're being super nice there. It's worse than you think. At least amongst the older generation Chinese. I don't know if it's prevalent amongst the younger generation. But man some of the racist stuff I've heard (personal experience here) is like...let me put it this way, if a White (or any other race had said this stuff) there'd be an outrage. Certain races "smell". I've heard blacks athletes referred to as like horses/animals. It's Hollywood hypocrisy at it's worst. Rail on something that may or may not be racist while getting into bed with a nation that is full of racists. Again, it's probably not all/majority of the population but I would bet a lot of them have that attitude/those thoughts.
Agree with Executive Decision. There's a good 100 minute film there. The last twenty mins or so are not neccesary.
What they should have done with Speed 2 is went with a train or a plane. The luxury liner was a dumb idea. Oh, I just read that Keanu got blackballed from 20th Century Fox for around 10 years because he refused to do Speed 2. Fuck that shit, he was right not to do it.
Yeah, the problem with what Hollywood is doing with minorities (and women) is that it's obvious and uneccesary. I'm all for them making films that show off their experience/different viewpoints of the world. I'm fine with something like Bound which shows two lesbian women trying to steal money from a mobster in a traditionally male oriented (noir) genre. Or Dead Presidents that specially dealt with post Vietnam malaise amongst blacks. Those are at least interesting and new ideas.
What I don't like them making a new Ghostbusters that featured minorities and women just because they didn't feature them enough the first time. It's not like they are making a totally new film. It's just rehashed shit with women/minorities in the lead instead of men.
Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
Everything Everywhere All At Once was a hit film with a fifty year old Asian woman as it’s star who a majority of Americans couldn’t even tell you her name. Making good films will create diversity naturally. Until they realize you can’t make a good film by writing a script around a diverse cast or with a race/gender/sexuality quota or equality “experts” who can order rewrites of scripts, you’ll keep getting Terminator Dark Fate and they’ll keep losing money.
Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
White Men Can't Jump - I don't know how this gets such great reviews. The basketball stuff is ok and Woody Harrelson and Snipes work well together... it's everything else that brings it down. That subplot where he owes thousands to those pathetic mobsters or whatever they are is garbage.
I can't stand Rosie Perez....nails on a chalkboard. It's hard to even picture them as a couple and the way she's obsessed with getting on Jeopardy to the point she does nothing but daydream about it and study for it...and she winds up getting on the show is just too much.
The story should have strictly been about their basketball hustle and that tournament.
Winning the tournament...which should be the grand finale...winds up more as an afterthought and really only serves as a way for Snipes to get robbed of his winnings.
As it winds down...it's more about Rosie Perez and trying to win her back.
This gets tossed into the "never watching it again" category.
Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
White Men Can't Jump - I don't know how this gets such great reviews. The basketball stuff is ok and Woody Harrelson and Snipes work well together... it's everything else that brings it down.
This gets tossed into the "never watching it again" category.
This is the exact same feeling I got while watching Money Train. The only difference is that I thought the Lopez-Snipes drama parts were the best parts of the film, as opposed to Rosie Perez being totally annoying . Snipes/Harrison worked well together, both vehicles just sucked ass in my opinion.
Bluebeard-Korean film. Only watched this because the other Korean films that looked interesting I had already seen . This one is ok for 2/3 of the way through. Then it goes off the rails BIG TIME with a damn twist and countertwist. I rarely get angry at films but this one pissed me off for wasting my time.
The Sicilian Connection--70s film starring Ben Gazzara. Most of this is boring as it spends waaaay too much time on the nuts and bolts of drug distribution and globe hopping. The only interesting parts happen in NYC near the end where you get some really nice shots of 1970s NYC and stuff/action actually happens.
Oh, misterID, it's easy to name the Asian actress of that 2022 film, since she was also in a BOND movie! It was years ago, but still.
Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
The Girl Next Door (1999) - A Tubi recommendation. It's a made for TV/cable movie. A guy is asked by his friend next door to keep an eye on his teen daughter while him and his wife go on vacation.
He winds up having a fling with her...and she winds up dead. It's about him trying to cover his tracks since there's evidence he had sex with her.
They do a good job setting this up but like a lot of movies of this caliber, it starts falling apart. They go too far in some areas and not far enough in others.
Gary Busey is in this as the Sheriff but it's such a hollow character... shouldn't have bothered hiring him.
That girl has a great look as the girl next door but she's obviously older than the character is supposed to be.
When we find out who actually killed her, I rolled my eyes. I didn't buy it or the reasoning. It's the type of shit that always happens in these movies.
It would have been much better to have the main character be the killer in the end and he was covering up more than just a fling. The way he let his friend...that reporter...just lay there and die so he could destroy the tape shows what a scum bag he is. Don't do a 180 on us during the climax.
At First Light - Another Tubi recommendation. I almost skipped it but I noticed it has that actress I liked from Insidious 3 so figured I'd give it a chance.
It starts out ok...as she's about to drown these lights come down from the sky and she has special powers. She doesn't remember her past, she heals her ex boyfriend's dying mother, when she gets mad she can move or smash vehicles just using her mind....
And then it basically runs in place. They didn't know where to take this story. The ending sucks.
Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
Forgotten---some Netflix Korean film. Turned out to be quite good and it deals with the psycholgical thriller stuff that the Koreans are quite good at. Somewhat of a con/twist movie if I were to describe.
The Firm--this one could have been great. As it is it's just solid. The 2.5 hour run time is too much. The acting and cast really are all ace across the board. Sydney Pollack directed this and I think he wanted this to be his conspiracy thriller of the 1990s. But it comes nowhere close to Three Days of the Condor which is more tightly plotted and has more urgency. I guess some of it is down to the Grisham novel. Honestly, I would have just dumped some of the stuff between Mitch (Tom Cruise's character) and his wife and focused on the nefarious doings of the firm. This is one of those, I'll watch once every decade kind of films.
Re: Most Recent Movie You've Seen
Had a Denzel double feature last night....
Malcolm X - I always thought Al Pacino robbed Clint Eastwood of the Oscar in 92 hamming it up as a blind man.
He also robbed Denzel.
This is now my 3rd favorite Denzel performance... behind Man On Fire and Flight.
Fallen - IMO crime/murder mysteries don't mix well with the supernatural. It tosses suspension of disbelief overboard.
I got tired of hearing that Stones song sung by the next person possessed. I knew it was only a matter of time before John Goodman is singing it...and sure as shit....
This had a great cast though...I loved Embeth Davidtz in this. I remember her in Schindler's List and then she fell off my radar. It was a pleasant surprise seeing her pop.up in this. I looked her up just now and I see she's in a Grisham movie I never watched from this same timeframe...The Gingerbread Man. I might watch that later tonight.
