The last movie you saw

[Eraser]

Cloverfield Paradox 6/10
It's entertaining but slightly underwhelming. A lot of the horror-esque stuff (think Event Horizon and you know the drill) just feels forced in there with no real explanation. Where in Event Horizon it was all the work of some unseen evil force (planting it firmly in the realm of fantasy), in Cloverfield Paradox it's attributed to physics, quantum entanglement and God particles. It's just a load of crap if you ask me. The early scenes are properly creepy, but as the movie progresses they just get more and more unoriginal. It all just feels a little lackluster, which is a shame for a movie in this franchise.

[Doombrain]

Same, called the ending from a mile off. But still nice of NF to drop it on us.

[losCHUNK]

Was alreet like.

Thought 'Life' would've been an awesome prequel, I was so expecting Jakes pod to land next to the statue of liberty.

[MKJ]

not seen Cloverfield Paradox yet.. I loved Cloverfield way back when, shame to hear it's being tarnished like this.
JJ Abrams MO innit

[MKJ]

oh
Shaun of the Dead
thought I had seen this before, turns out I hadn't. Surprisingly well made, expected more laughs.

[Eraser]

not seen Cloverfield Paradox yet.. I loved Cloverfield way back when, shame to hear it's being tarnished like this.

Asking Doombrain, I guess it still scores about 3 out of 5 last jedis though

[Eraser]

Oh yeah, something that I found somewhat annoying about the movie as well is that all the characters were stereotypes for their nationality.

The Russian was the slightly balding bad guy with a short temper. The German was the technical engineer with a 40's looking haircut and metal framed glasses (think TF2's medic). the Italian was a grizzled, unshaven man. The Chinese woman was the only character that couldn't speak English. The Brazilian dude was a religious man because, you know, there's this big ass statue of Jesus in Brazil. The only thing missing was a Jew counting his money, a Dutch person walking on clogs and a French mute who can only express himself by miming his techno babble.

[Don Carlos]

Did it have a Brit drinking tea with bad teeth?

[Eraser]

She has decent teeth.
Then again, she's 50% South African (the actress, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, that is).

[Whiskey 7]

Same, called the ending from a mile off. But still nice of NF to drop it on us.

I need to ask, who is NF?
Is it as below?

NF (rapper) - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NF_(rapper)

Nathan John Feuerstein known by his stage name NF, is an American rapper, artist and songwriter, who has charted in both the Christian hip hop and mainstream hip hop markets.

[Eraser]

Netflix, Whiskey. It's this newfangled way of watching movies and TV series through something called "The Internet"

[Mat Linnett]

the Italian was a grizzled, unshaven man.

Wait, wot?
Are you on about Mundy, the Irish guy? You know, Chris O'Dowd, better known as Roy from The IT Crowd?

[Whiskey 7]

Netflix, Whiskey. It's this newfangled way of watching movies and TV series through something called "The Internet"

Oh, my bad as I see I misread the text " ... still nice of NF to drop it on us.. " as still nice of NF to drop in on us I thought 'NF' was a person. In vs it.

On a side note, I am considering a Netflix subscription when I get fibre to the building, then I should see my connection speed increase by a factor of 5 or more. I was staying with a friend recently and got a demo of the newfangled Netflix. It has possibilities

[Whiskey 7]

Sorry, I forgot to add that I have never seen a 'Cloverfield' movie but they are now on my list

[Whiskey 7]

Blade Runner (1982)

I've had the Blu-Ray for years, still 'wrapped in plastic' so I opened and watched last night. I still find the imagery and detail astounding and was surprised to find it was made back in '82

A classic.

The music still gives me goosebumps..

Now I remember Deckard and Rachael in a car driving off in an ending.... Ah, here is is in a 'deleted scenes/lost footage' video. Interesting. Jump to 41 seconds/watch to lot

Try this link to the video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xBKrz0wdsM&t=2145s


IMDB

PS. I found the Cloverfield movies so just need to find the time to watch 'em

[Don Carlos]

Blade Runner 2049 - 9/10

Exceptional film. I don't have enough time to eulogise about it at the moment, but soon....

[seremtan]

Blade Runner 2049 - not-100%-sure-yet/10

visually it's stunning, and the camerawork is top drawer. music echoes the 1982 movie's without just copying. from a craft POV, it stands with the original

not sure what mark out of 10 i'd give it though. need to see if it's still stays with me for a while afterwards.

[spoiler]plus there was something very predictable about the plot. you just knew that as soon as K actually learned that his memory was real some shit would break out, and sure enough... :/[/spoiler]

[Don Carlos]

Black Panther - 6.5/10

Stand back from the cultural hype train and what you have is a slightly underwhelming super hero film.

[Eraser]

At the risk of sounding a lot like Memphis, I've heard multiple people say that with the release of Black Panther, there's finally a superhero black kids can look up to too and have as their role model.

My question is, why can't Spiderman be a role model for a black kid? Why can't Superman be a role model for a black kid? Why can't Iron Man be a role model for a black kid?
Because of the color of their skins? Excuse me? Isn't that racism pur sang?

Look, I get that it's a good thing to have black actors and black characters (or from any racial background) be on par with their white counterparts, but let's not act like a white kid is unable or not allowed to thing Spiderman is cool just because Spiderman isn't black.

Besides, now that there's a black superhero, he dresses up like some bushman from central Africa. That's not a stereotype, eh?

[Don Carlos]

At the risk of sounding a lot like Memphis, I've heard multiple people say that with the release of Black Panther, there's finally a superhero black kids can look up to too and have as their role model.

My question is, why can't Spiderman be a role model for a black kid? Why can't Superman be a role model for a black kid? Why can't Iron Man be a role model for a black kid?
Because of the color of their skins? Excuse me? Isn't that racism pur sang?

Look, I get that it's a good thing to have black actors and black characters (or from any racial background) be on par with their white counterparts, but let's not act like a white kid is unable or not allowed to thing Spiderman is cool just because Spiderman isn't black.

Besides, now that there's a black superhero, he dresses up like some bushman from central Africa. That's not a stereotype, eh?

It's an odd one, and I kind of get where they are coming from. Spiderman is an interesting one as the hero himself is masked, so therefore should appeal to everyone. But as soon as the mask comes off, the person isn't what a black kid see's in the mirror. Its just another white bloke saving the world. Kids of all colours want to see themselves represented fairly along side Iron Man and Spiderman.

You could argue that the press have completely missed/forgotten about Spawn, Hancock and Blade as black super heroes. But those films are not on the same level as the new Marvel films, especially Spawn.

I am going to do a second score based on taking everything into account, including how culturally and politically driven the film is. Take into consideration what the film is trying to achieve I would move the score to 8.5/10, and here is why.

Some spoilers ahead, but nothing major.

First and foremost, the film is a celebration of tradition when it comes to Africa/African Americans. The fact it's set in Africa and uses African dialect at times is wonderful. It's colourful and I would imagine (though I don't know for certain) it borrows from other traditions and customs when it comes to the events that unfold.

The story of Wakanda itself is interesting; a nation with a huge amount of technology that has been deriven from Vibranium, a mystical metal that is fond in Wakanda after a meteor falls. Worried about it being stolen (See all of Africa), Wakanda seals itself away from the outside world and paints itself as a poor, third world country with little going for it. But they do not accept aid from other countries and refuse to be "helped". There is some needle towards the present day in some of the conversations that are had; "Wise men build bridges, fools build barriers" which to me is a clear reference to Trump and his wall. There are a few others that I can't divulge due to them as they might be a little spoilery for this. But all of these things are being said while the true nature of the country is totally at odds with those words. In one scene somebody says "There are 2 billion people on this planet that look like us and what have you done to help them? Where were you when we were being persecuted throughout the ages" or some words to that affect. It's a moment in the film that made me sit down and think; were those words aimed at the people of Wakanda or the people of the world in general? One of the bad guys is South African, which must be a nod to the whole apartheid regime that was prevalent in South Africa until quite recently. There are loads of bits I could go into but I won't as I don't want to spoil the film for everyone by dissecting it and giving away too much.

Anyway, after watching and reflecting on the wider issues it tries to bring to the fore, I have to say I can see why people are saying its brilliant; because it kind of is. It gives you enough information to make you think while still being a marvel film. It's a difficult balancing act and they have done it very well indeed.

But as I have said earlier, strip away the cultural and political notions and you are left with a very average super hero film with some suspect visual effects and a poor sound track.

[Eraser]

It's an odd one, and I kind of get where they are coming from. Spiderman is an interesting one as the hero himself is masked, so therefore should appeal to everyone. But as soon as the mask comes off, the person isn't what a black kid see's in the mirror. Its just another white bloke saving the world.

Maybe I want to go too fast in this. But the idea that a black kid can't identify himself with a white superhero because of skin color is probably exactly the root of the problem here. What I should've said is that having a black superhero isn't a goal in itself. The problem isn't solved, it's just a remedy for a symptom of the problem. It's a step needed working towards the ultimate goal. A world where, indeed, a black kid can see a white superhero and see beyond skincolor and think "yeah, that's gonna be me".

I'm not sure how deep this cultural "segregation" goes though. I guess it differs where you're coming from. When I was a kid, I thought Benjamin Sisko was an awesome captain, who would beat Jean-Luc Picards ass any day. I thought Jules Winnfield (Samuel L Jackson in Pulp Fiction) was a fantastic character. Morpheus in The Matrix seemed to me like the guy that just knew a little more than everyone else. I thought he was cool and I was taken by his air of mystery. Jeez, even the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air seemed like someone way cooler than me (though I more identified with Carlton though, being this horrible nerd myself ). If I, as a pasty white kid can be inspired by black characters, shouldn't it be normal if it worked the other way around as well?
Oh yeah, I get it, that's my white privilege again.

[DTS]

Predator 2

It was good. Having seen it several times over the years; what stood out the most was the quality of the pacing and the sound effects.

8/10

[shaft]

At the risk of sounding a lot like Memphis, I've heard multiple people say that with the release of Black Panther, there's finally a superhero black kids can look up to too and have as their role model.

My question is, why can't Spiderman be a role model for a black kid? Why can't Superman be a role model for a black kid? Why can't Iron Man be a role model for a black kid?
Because of the color of their skins? Excuse me? Isn't that racism pur sang?

Look, I get that it's a good thing to have black actors and black characters (or from any racial background) be on par with their white counterparts, but let's not act like a white kid is unable or not allowed to thing Spiderman is cool just because Spiderman isn't black.

Besides, now that there's a black superhero, he dresses up like some bushman from central Africa. That's not a stereotype, eh?

I've seen quite a few people say this too and all its done it made me wonder if the hype is actually because its good or if its just some sort of viral marketing initiative. If you cant speak to the qualities of the movie without yelling "See Hollywood, proof that people want a superhero who is (insert ethnicity here)" maybe it isnt that good.

But then I also wonder If this makes me roll my eyes because I've never had to think twice about not seeing someone who looks like me in a particular movie. Maybe we should let them have this moment and just go see it for ourselves.

Don makes some good points also.

[DTS]

You know it's not a Hollywood invention, it's an old comic? Also: War Machine.

[seremtan]

But then I also wonder If this makes me roll my eyes because I've never had to think twice about not seeing someone who looks like me in a particular movie.

another thing about this movie is the apparent amnesia it causes in people. i'm sure you've seen and enjoyed plenty of movies and TV shows where the protagonists (or at least half of them) didn't 'look like you' - you've just forgotten them thanks to the Black Panther hype reality distortion field