Quake3World

Dune (Villeneuve) - 7/10

visuals and sound design: 10/10, gorgeous
storytelling: 8/10, a lot to cover in the exposition, but it meant adding in scenes that weren't in the book (and even failing to identify major characters by name, like Piter de Vries)
script: 5/10, didn't match the overall tone of the movie, perhaps trying to appease a 'lay' audience who weren't familiar with the book, but even so...

Old

M. Night Shyamalan's 2021 movie about people who happen to age rapidly on some beach.

5/10

I like Shyamalan for the most part. I think he is mistreated by the interwebs.
Sixth Sense is generally considered his best work although personally, I prefer Unbreakable.
The Village is a really good example of taking a concept and exploiting it as best as possible in my opinion. And it was a good movie, imo.

That's pretty much what Shyamalan does. He takes a concept and exploits it and then adds a twist to the whole story.
Sometimes this works better, sometimes less so.

What he does is exactly what a screenwriter should do. Come up with a unique concept and explore (or exploit) it as much as you can in a clever way.

Unfortunatly with Old he misses a lot of opportunities. The concept itself may sound silly and weak at first but really it lends itself to some philosophically interesting questions.
Shyamalan touches on some of those but mostly fails to deliver a point. And some questions are not even touched upon.
And the escape is a prime example of rushed or "how the fuck do I get out of this?"- writing. It is just lame. The twist is allright given the circumstances.

Just before I learned that he adapted a french graphic novel with this screenplay/movie. It leaves more of the questions open to the reader for interpretation from what little I've read about it. Maybe Shyamalan should have done so too in this case.

Antlers

Horror movie that deals with the Wendigo myth, set in modern times Northwestern USA.

6/10

The Wendigo from what I've read is a myth of north-american natives. From what I understand it's a phantastical creature created to push the guilt away that arises from cannibalistic and/or abusive behaviour commited by fellow members of the tribe.
I guess the closest we get in european folklore are witches or vampires?

I was expecting more from this movie. Saw the trailer like 2 years ago. Pandemic-thing...
It's not bad. But there are better flicks that hit the nerve. Ravenous goes the horror route while Van Diemen's Land takes a more realistic approach.

Nightmare Alley - 7/10

Very beautiful. Great ending. But the plot is a bit too streamlined and so the second and third act feel a bit disconnected.

It was a bit too long IMO, by the end I was kind of tired of it. Cate Blanchett was great though, as always.

Captain wrote:... by the end I was kind of tired of it ...

Agreed.

For me the main reason here was that even though the first act contains some setups for what's happening in the second half of the movie, the payoff is mostly predictable and so it feels more like the movie is just going through the same old moves we've all seen a dozen times before.

Also: I don't think I like Bradley Cooper (or at least his style in the movie) at all. He's basically playing the same characer here as in American Hustle and I don't enjoy it.

Pext wrote:

Captain wrote:... by the end I was kind of tired of it ...

Agreed.

For me the main reason here was that even though the first act contains some setups for what's happening in the second half of the movie, the payoff is mostly predictable and so it feels more like the movie is just going through the same old moves we've all seen a dozen times before.

Also: I don't think I like Bradley Cooper (or at least his style in the movie) at all. He's basically playing the same characer here as in American Hustle and I don't enjoy it.

Now I wondered where I got the idea to watch this movie came from but watch I did last night. It has been said, a bit too long and predictable. I did think the role wasn't suited to Bradley Cooper but the art deco visuals made the movie for me.

Was it a twist at the end, I don't know. Thinking now, yes it was, especially when the carnival manager uttered those words "I have one job I'd like to have a look at...it ain't much, but it is a job, right.... You know what a geek is?", then his acknowledging nod of the head.....

Actors Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe & Toni Collette portrayed their roles well I thought. There was another surprise for me was the appearance of David Hewlett (Stargate).

Yes 7+/10

Dune - unsure/10

Slow slow film...I think I need to watch it again, though it did just feel like a set up for the (I assume) second film.

The Sadness

There is a comic series called "Crossed" from creator Garth Ennis who also brought us "Preacher" and "The Boys" and others.
From Wiki:
"The story follows survivors dealing with a pandemic that causes its victims to carry out their most evil thoughts. Carriers of the virus are generally known as the "Crossed" due to a large, cross-like rash that appears on their faces [...]. This contagion is primarily spread through bodily fluids, which the Crossed have used to great effect by treating their weapons with their fluids, as well as through other forms of direct fluidic contact such as rape and bites, assuming the victim lives long enough to turn. A major difference between the Crossed and other fictional zombie or insanity-virus epidemics (e.g., in the film 28 Days Later) is that while the Crossed are turned into homicidal violent psychopaths, they still retain a basic human-level of intelligence: thus, they are still capable of using tools and weapons, driving motor vehicles, setting complex traps, and other actions. It is occasionally noted in the series that a Crossed retains any skills they had prior to their infection; most simply lack the patience or sanity to do anything not immediately related to their vicious impulses."

Comic- creator Garth Ennis about his creations:
"The Crossed are people who – through infection – have given in to the absolute worst instincts that human beings can: murder, rape, torture, cannibalism, all of the most cruel and inventive kind imaginable. They are out of control, really. Their number one urge is to get their hands into normal people and commit every ghastly act they can think of – they can't fight it, and they don't want to."

Ennis wanted to turn the comics into a life action adaption but that never happened. Which is of no surprise really if you think of some of the sexualized brutality that is depicted in the books. It really is out of bounds for any Streamer or Channel.


Out of nowhere comes this canadian director Rob Jabbaz who shoots a horror movie in Taiwan during the pandemic about a virus that turns its victims into sadistic homicidal maniacs. There you go. It is an almost 1:1 adaption of the core- idea of the comics.
From what I've read Jabbaz never ever mentions the comics in interviews about the movie. Not even as inspiration. Really lame from him in my opinion as this is clearly the case.
Anyway, is it a good adaption? Well, it's as good as is possible I guess without creating a movie that would be banned in probably most countries that ban movies.
Is it a good horror movie? Yes, I think it is. It is of the gory violent kind. Don't expect a slow burn chiller. Although it has moments of hitting the break from time to time. Some of the terror happens off-camera. Those would be the acts that would get the movie banned or at least X-rated.
Is it a good movie as in "Does it add anything new to the art of movies": Well, not really. Critics back in the day said the same about "Psycho" though. Sadness much like "A Serbian Film" raises the bar in depicting violence in a movie.

Technically it is a very well made movie for gorehounds. The effects are all practical from what I can tell and they deliver. Acting is decent. Direction and Camera are good.

I'd rate it a 7.

I've read some of Crossed, it's fucked up even for Garth Ennis!

Don Carlos wrote:Dune - unsure/10

Slow slow film...I think I need to watch it again, though it did just feel like a set up for the (I assume) second film.

Villeneuve skipped a lot of material to even get it down to as long as it was. and yeah, if you only get to tell the first half of a story, it's going to feel like a set up

Went to the cinema, movie theatre today, first time in yes, years.

Downtown Abbey: A New Era

Thoroughly enjoyable but then we've watched the entire TV series and the other movie so it was indeed nice to see the Crawley family story continue.

9/10

Greenland. Fantastic catastrophic movie.

Operation Mincemeat 2021

During WWII, two intelligence officers use a corpse and false papers to outwit German troops.

Great and an enjoyable movie but I shuddered when I saw this goof before reading of it in the IMDB page. Still a solid 8/10.

At one point Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen return a salute whilst indoors and bare-headed. It is an appalling breach of British military etiquette to give or return a salute unless in full uniform, including headgear.

Top Gun: Maverick

Yes and all was as expected. Quite an enjoyable movie for me, then it is Tom Cruise.
...and I would say, one of the few movies I'd see again, perhaps within days.

If you haven't, you should as I'd rate a solid 9/10

I should go when it's still in theatres. However, I don't have time. :tear:

CZghost wrote:I should go when it's still in theatres. However, I don't have time. :tear:

Treat yourself CZghost. I know now it one of the few movies I'd see again and on a theatre screen and yes, I will watch on the TV when available

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

We've been meaning to catch this DiCaprio / Scorsese for a while and it will be a while again before we view if ever.
Yea, it was OK but..... I guess you have to see it.

I'll sum up in a word, interesting. 5/10

IMDB

I had remembered a movie from 90s ~ 2000s ~ 2010s. It's an adolescent boy with heroic will, where he can fly in a plane with his father or an acquaintance.

There's a scene where he fights and defeats against bullying school mates (defending from a new friend that he will know during all movie) and other where he and his almost-know friend face punks being mugged in the street, one of them had a large fine ring (piercing) hooked on his nose, they were preparing to escape from them in this street, before the heroic adolescent snatches this punk one by ripping the piercing out of his nose. And wildly, the punks chase them and from there the chase destroys things that are on the street, local places, restaurants, ... and they manage to escape in the end.
The final scene is where these 2 kids are locked up in a plane where it's about to crash into a mountain, they manage to escape united with his father or acquaintance inside plane using a parachute.

But I don't know what the name of movie is, damn, I wish recover this title name on my memory.

Whiskey 7 wrote:The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

We've been meaning to catch this DiCaprio / Scorsese for a while and it will be a while again before we view if ever.
Yea, it was OK but..... I guess you have to see it.

I'll sum up in a word, interesting. 5/10

IMDB

I enjoyed Wolf of Wall Street, but a lot of the subject matter sickened me, particularly the conspicuous consumption.

This was probably amplified by the fact that a lot of the guys I worked with at the time viewed that sort of behaviour as something to be admired and emulated. Subsequently they were ignorant to the movie's overt criticism of such.

At the time, it was the kind of office you'd come in to in the morning to find suspicious white, powdery residue or empty baggies on the desks.

2010: The Year We Make Contact

You know; the follow on from 2001: A Space Odyssey and if you haven't, you must, yes, possibly again.

2010 IMDB
2001 IMDB

Edit: Brilliant

Edit 2:This piece early

SAL: Will I dream?
Dr. Chandra: Of course you will. All intelligent creatures dream...

Edit 3: Check out air braking (Jupiter/ IO space) at 33 minutes

Everything, everywhere all at once.

Probably one of the best movies I've watched in a decade. Highly recommend.

Hello Kracus. Glad you enjoyed the movie.

Κracus wrote:Everything, everywhere all at once.

Probably one of the best movies I've watched in a decade. Highly recommend.

I'd better go find it then

It's a good film. In fact, it's nice to see the actor who played "Short Round" in Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom play a big part in this film. Very interesting.