Gendo watches more movies in 2018

Post by **Gendo** » Thu Aug 16, 2018 12:25 am

73. Dangerous Minds - Not bad. I found the students' initial transformation a little sudden and unbelievable. But the story was pretty solid, and the acting good.

Post by **Gendo** » Sat Aug 18, 2018 8:21 pm

74. The Lobster - Wow. One of the strangest films I've seen. Pretty sure I liked it; but one of those movies where I can't really be sure. I was completely captivated by the first 30 minutes; waiting to see where it was going to go. But I didn't like where it went quite as much as I'd hoped. The world they created/presented was just super interesting.

Post by **Gendo** » Tue Sep 04, 2018 4:01 pm

75. Thoroughly Modern Millie - Pretty good. Super quirky and weird. Music was enjoyable; the dance numbers were well done. A bit too long.

76. Moscow on the Hudson - Not bad... not as good as I'd heard. Robin Williams was great; but the story didn't do much for me. Just surface-level look at the cultural differences between American and the USSR. Fun fact, Williams learned to play the saxophone and learned to speak Russian for the part.

Post by **Gendo** » Tue Sep 04, 2018 4:16 pm

Also, I have already passed my total from last year; with 4 months to go.

Raxivace · Post by **Raxivace** » Tue Sep 04, 2018 4:36 pm

Gendo wrote:Also, I have already passed my total from last year; with 4 months to go.

Nice.

I had 164 last year and I'm at 162 this year. My goal is to get to at least 250. Not sure I can make it but I shall try.

Post by **Gendo** » Tue Sep 25, 2018 9:28 pm

September has been terrible for movie watching. I did get through 3 seasons of South Park at least.

Post by **Gendo** » Mon Oct 01, 2018 1:51 pm

Finally!

77. The Predator - Eh. I wasn't expecting much, but then when I found out it was Shane Black, I had some hopes. But it really just didn't leave much of an impression. Not horrible, but not good. I liked the humor actually, as expected from Black. And the action had some fun moments.

78. Kingsman: The Secret Service - Good! Just a fun take on James Bond movies. Samuel L. Jackson was a really fun villain to watch. The plot had me engaged... interestingly, if I had seen this when it came out, then I would have thought Infinity War was just ripping off the main plot.

Post by **Gendo** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 2:08 pm

79. Training Day - Wow, amazing! I'm normally not really into Denzel, but it's clear to see why he won the Oscar for this one. The back-and-forth between him and Hawke throughout the film was great. The suspense throughout continues to build, as you slowly start to piece together just how bad Denzel's character is. I felt like I was on the same journey as Hawke's character, never quite sure how far Denzel was going to go, what his true motivations were, etc. I will say that I didn't like the last 20 minutes or so; when the battle for Hawke's soul becomes a battle for his life; I thought it worked much better when Denzel was ambiguously evil instead of a straight-up antagonist. Wanting to know whether Hawke would fall into the dark side rather than wondering whether he would survive.

80. Courageous - A different type of cop film... one of those Christian inspiration movies from the small studio run by a church that brought us Fireproof, Facing the Giants, etc. I think as a whole he's getting better a filmmaking. There was a lot of good drama and storytelling here. Yes, it still has the predictable cliches of the portrayal of the non-Christians vs the Christians; including the conversion scene that I'm pretty sure has been in every one of his movies... but ultimately he's making these as a tool to preach the Gospel, so it's understandable. I suppose some of the emotion worked extra well on me because it's all about fatherhood, and I'm 5 weeks away from being a father.

Raxivace · Post by **Raxivace** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 2:50 pm

I think you can have Denzel be the antagonist of the movie but still only be ambiguously evil. It does become a bit too much of an action movie at the end though for me.

Now that I think about it, Training Day really is kind of similar story to Orson Welles' Touch of Evil.

Raxivace · Post by **Raxivace** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 2:51 pm

Gendo wrote: I suppose some of the emotion worked extra well on me because it's all about fatherhood, and I'm 5 weeks away from being a father.

Congratulations btw!

Post by **Gendo** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 10:55 pm

Raxivace wrote:
Gendo wrote: I suppose some of the emotion worked extra well on me because it's all about fatherhood, and I'm 5 weeks away from being a father.
Congratulations btw!

Thanks!

Post by **Gendo** » Tue Oct 09, 2018 10:56 pm

So for those who have seen Training Day; there was one thing that I was confused by. Looking for an answer: https://movies.stackexchange.com/questi ... id-to-jake" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

BruceSmith78 · Post by **BruceSmith78** » Wed Oct 10, 2018 1:38 am

It's been like 13 years since I've seen that movie, but I remember there was a scene, I think it was right after Alonzo killed Roger and Jake didn't fall in line as he hoped, where Jake's in the car and Alonzo's outside on his phone. You can't hear most of the conversation, but you hear him say, “just make sure that bathtub's clean though," before he hangs up. This is clearly him ordering the hit on Jake (Smiley intends to kill him in the bathtub). If I remember correctly it's right before he tries to smooth things over with Jake, which is what the person in that link interpreted as Alonzo trying to win Jake over. He was prepared to kill Jake if needed, but didn't know he'd need to until the Roger thing went down. At that point he was just playing the part and trying to keep Jake's guard down.

Post by **Gendo** » Wed Oct 10, 2018 2:40 pm

Yeah I remembered the phone call mentioning the bathtub; but wasn't sure if that was meant to be a turning point in his plan. It does seem to make more sense as a whole that he wasn't planning on killing him from the very start; it's just unclear exactly when he made that decision. Nothing in particular changed between the time that they left Roger's house and when he made that phone call. "The person in that link" is also me, btw.

Post by **Gendo** » Wed Oct 10, 2018 2:44 pm

81. Pan - Meh. Didn't really do anything for me. It was a neat idea; but I don't think Peter got nearly enough character development to make me care. Jackman was a surprising letdown; a forgettable villain. Garrett Hedlund as Hook was actually a fun character though. It seemed like he was doing some sort of Nicholson impression throughout the movie; but since I don't know the actor, maybe that's just what he sounds like. The underwater memory scene was actually really cool; and the final climax with the battle between the 2 boats was good.

BruceSmith78 · Post by **BruceSmith78** » Wed Oct 10, 2018 10:03 pm

I thought that phone call was right after they left Roger's house. The way I saw it, Alonzo planned for 2 outcomes that day. Either Jake sees things his way and agrees to join his squad of dirty cops, or he doesn't and Alonzo has him killed by Smiley. Jake's reaction to the killing of Roger told him which outcome would best suit his needs.

maz89 · Post by **maz89** » Thu Oct 11, 2018 10:38 am

Congratulations Gendo!

Post by **Gendo** » Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:23 pm

Thanks!

Post by **Gendo** » Mon Oct 15, 2018 3:18 pm

82. His Girl Friday - Good stuff! Quite funny throughout. I especially liked Cary Grant; though he didn't actually have a lot of screen time.

83. Exodus: Gods and Kings - The book was better.

Actually, I liked it more than I expected to. The way they did the plagues was good. Bale actually impressed me. Not amazing or anything overall, but enjoyable to watch.

84. The Apple Dumpling Gang - Ok I guess. Don Knotts was funny. But probably one of those movies that you needed to watch growing up to really like.

Raxivace · Post by **Raxivace** » Mon Oct 15, 2018 6:59 pm

His Girl Friday is great.

Honestly its hard to go bad with Cary Grant's stuff. Even a lot of his lesser movies usually have at least something going for them.

Post by **Gendo** » Fri Oct 26, 2018 3:18 pm

85. Funny Games (2007) - Great! Apparently this is a same-director remake of his own movie from 10 years prior. Hey, it worked for Evil Dead 2 and The Ten Commandments. It was an interesting mix between a straight-up home invasion thriller, and a bit of commentary/satire on home invasion thrillers. The camera work did a great job at adding suspense, and the story itself did a really good job of subverting expectations. At one point in the movie, I specifically though to myself "well at least we know the kid will live through this; they wouldn't ever kill the kid." And then BAM, they just do it, just like that. All around just creepy and entertaining, while also forcing you to confront what type of person you must be to be entertained by this sort of thing.

maz89 · Post by **maz89** » Fri Oct 26, 2018 3:45 pm

I really liked the eerie tone/atmosphere in Funny Games, but I also walked away feeling kind of... empty. I mean, it was a smart intellectual exercise, but part of me hoped that Haneke would do something even more with that masterful tone.

Raxivace · Post by **Raxivace** » Fri Oct 26, 2018 3:50 pm

The only thing Funny Games proved to me is that Haneke has no idea why people watch horror movies, and misunderstands so badly that he felt the need to make the same movie shot-for-shot twice.

maz89 · Post by **maz89** » Fri Oct 26, 2018 4:56 pm

But... Naomi Watts is in the 2007 one. That changes everything.

Raxivace · Post by **Raxivace** » Fri Oct 26, 2018 5:17 pm

Eh, is it really that much of a change? Like she's great in Mulholland Dr. but I've never seen anything else in her career come even close to matching that, especially not Funny Games '07.

If anything I'd say Tim Roth is the noticeable improvement, though less because of his own talent and more because I thought the guy playing the father in the German version was just awful.

Derived Absurdity · Post by **Derived Absurdity** » Fri Oct 26, 2018 11:13 pm

It's great when directors make meaningless sadistic nonsense and then moralize their audience for watching their meaningless sadistic nonsense.

Post by **Gendo** » Sat Nov 03, 2018 9:25 pm

86. Arrival - Excellent. Great atmosphere and tension-building throughout the beginning; then moves into a more thought-provoking and twisting ride. At times it seemed a bit drawn-out, but mostly that just worked to add to the tension.

maz89 · Post by **maz89** » Sat Nov 03, 2018 9:39 pm

I really liked Arrivals for that tone/atmosphere you refer to as well. Also, the score - so glad it introduced me to Richter's On the Nature of Daylight. I also like how the circularity aspect is built into the film's structure and visuals. Also, I think Amy Adams is a terrific actress.

Much like Watts. @Rax, I've always enjoyed her performances. Twin Peaks, Painted Veil, Eastern Promises, Funny Games, Ring... She just has a problem with picking good films because she has indeed starred in some truly awful stuff. The other day, I caught a really shitty film of hers with Robin Wright on Netflix, the story in which revolved around two women sleeping with each other's sons. More recently a Netflix original show has her play a therapist who sleeps with her patients.

Raxivace · Post by **Raxivace** » Sat Nov 03, 2018 9:42 pm

I'll take back what I said because she does do really well in Twin Peaks.

Those last two things you mentioned though...sheesh.

Post by **Gendo** » Wed Nov 07, 2018 3:40 pm

87. Transformers (2007) - Worse than I expected... and I had pretty low expectations. I had heard that the first one (and only the first one) was actually ok. I think "ok" is generous. Mostly I was just bored.

Raxivace · Post by **Raxivace** » Wed Nov 07, 2018 3:46 pm

I haven't seen it in years but I'd probably be pretty down on it now despite sort of liking it at the time.

I had the displeasure of seeing Revenge of the Fallen twice when it was new and oh boy, now there's a bad giant robot movie.

Derived Absurdity · Post by **Derived Absurdity** » Wed Nov 07, 2018 6:11 pm

Seeing Revenge of the Fallen in the the theater was the single worst experience I have ever had in my life.

Post by **Gendo** » Sun Nov 11, 2018 1:47 am

88. The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again - Fine for what it was. Almost nothing to do with the first one; more of a spinoff than a sequel. Like if they made a Power Rangers movie that didn't have the Power Rangers and was just about Bulk and Skull. Don Knotts is fun to watch, though. A somewhat elaborate plot for a movie where nothing significant happens.

Post by **Gendo** » Mon Nov 12, 2018 1:49 pm

89. The Aristocats - Disney animation from this era is so much fun. While not as polished and pretty as the stuff from the 90s; the exaggerated movements of the characters really draw you in. The story was straight-forward, but engaging, and the music was really catchy. Also, I think could just sit there and listen to Phil Harris talk forever.

Post by **Gendo** » Tue Nov 13, 2018 2:20 am

90. Fruitvale Station - Man; very good, and very depressing. This was not an incident I knew anything about before watching this; though certainly familiar with the unfortunate trend of similar incidents more recently. The movie doesn't set out to paint Oscar as a perfect hero; but it does an amazing job of painting him as a real person. Anyway, Michael B. Jordan was fantastic.

Eva Yojimbo · Post by **Eva Yojimbo** » Sun Nov 18, 2018 8:13 am

Of your recents I've seen His Girl Friday (one of my favorites: easy 10/10), Transformers (loud and dumb, but not as loud and idiotic as the sequels: 5/10) and Funny Games (which I hated. Ebert's review is still definitive: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/funny-games-2008" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - it's like a 3/10 at best).

Post by **Gendo** » Sun Nov 25, 2018 3:56 am

91. Justice League - 12 days without watching a new movie; but I think I have a good excuse! Anyway, this was about as bad as I expected from what I heard. Like most other DCEU movies, not so much actually bad, as simply sad given what they could have been. All the characters were severely underdeveloped; and the main plot simply wasn't interesting. Ok, so it was basically the same main plot from the first Avengers movie. But an interesting villain makes a big difference there.

Post by **Gendo** » Mon Nov 26, 2018 4:06 pm

92. Deadpool 2 - Excellent. Not sure if I liked as much as the first one or not. But I definitely liked it. Great soundtrack. The humor worked really well. The action and plot were just ok. Not sure it really earned the heartfelt moments it had at the end; they felt out of place. But Josh Brolin was amazing.

93. Alice in Wonderland (1951) - Interesting. Not so much a cohesive movie as a collection of interesting animation. Like Fantasia, but without the music. I didn't realize how much of the actual main plot was new to the Tim Burton version. It was fine, but didn't really keep my interest.

94. Tag - As good as one can expect given the genre (stupid comedy). The "Sherlock" scenes were awesome and hilarious. And the concept as a whole was just interesting and original. There were a few places where it was crass for what seemed like no good reason. I actually think this movie would have been better at PG-13 without those jokes. But that's just my personal humor style; not into excessively crass humor. Renner was good.

Raxivace · Post by **Raxivace** » Mon Nov 26, 2018 4:58 pm

I really should revisit Alice in Wonderland at some point. I remember it being trippy but it was so long ago that I last saw it.

maz89 · Post by **maz89** » Mon Nov 26, 2018 8:22 pm

Gendo wrote:90. Fruitvale Station - Man; very good, and very depressing. This was not an incident I knew anything about before watching this; though certainly familiar with the unfortunate trend of similar incidents more recently. The movie doesn't set out to paint Oscar as a perfect hero; but it does an amazing job of painting him as a real person. Anyway, Michael B. Jordan was fantastic.

Very depressing indeed. Jordan's a great actor.

Post by **Gendo** » Tue Nov 27, 2018 5:55 pm

95. Jigsaw - Basically the same as Saws II - VII (the first one was quite different). Guilty pleasures for me; I know they aren't good films, but I enjoy them. Even though I predicted the bad guy after his first line of dialog, the ending still had a few twists that left me surprised. I'm glad that it had Tobin Bell, but was disappointed that it didn't have Cary Elwes.

96. City Slickers - Not bad. Not great. It got better as it went on; I really didn't like the opening act. A few of the jokes were funny, but a lot of them missed. I liked the characters for the most part, and I liked the scenery a lot.

Post by **Gendo** » Thu Nov 29, 2018 6:18 pm

97. Black Panther - It was good. Not better than expected, but that would have been really hard given how much good stuff I'd heard about it. It really didn't feel like an MCU movie; far more serious in tone. More scifi than super hero. But man, Michael B. Jordan nails it again; by far one of the best villains out there. It feels like a movie that I will enjoy more the next time I watch it, now that I know what to expect. The CGI was bad. Cartoonishly bad in a couple places.

Post by **Gendo** » Fri Nov 30, 2018 3:23 am

98. Game Night - Mixed feelings on this one. There were a few elements I really liked... such as just about every scene with Jesse Plemons. And the chemistry between each couple was good. But the main plot was way too similar to many other things. I think Date Night did the same thing better.

Raxivace · Post by **Raxivace** » Fri Nov 30, 2018 5:52 pm

The plot in Game Night is by no means original but I don't think that's really a mark against the movie.

That said its by no means a masterpiece but I thought it was an enjoyable comedy.

Post by **Gendo** » Mon Dec 03, 2018 5:11 am

99. It (2017) - Good stuff; genuinely scary in several parts. The coming of age stuff really worked well. SkarsgÃ¥rd was terrific. There was stuff that didn't really make sense in terms of character choices and motivations and such; but it's a horror movie, after all.

Raxivace · Post by **Raxivace** » Mon Dec 03, 2018 7:35 am

What character motivations didn't make sense to you?

Post by **Gendo** » Mon Dec 03, 2018 3:09 pm

Raxivace wrote:What character motivations didn't make sense to you?

A lot of stuff that makes more sense if you know the book or the miniseries. Things like why didn't Pennywise just kill any of the main characters during any number of the multiple chances he had? He had no problem killing other random children around town shortly before. Why appear as a scary-looking clown initially? The miniseries version one actually made sense, that it was a friendly looking clown which would lure children in. But if the clown is going to be always scary, then being a clown in general doesn't make sense. Both of those seem like pretty standard problems with almost every horror movie, though.

For the human characters... Henry Bower's racism was pretty much left out of the film completely. He tells Mike to get out of his town, but there's no actual hint of racism there, so we don't know why he doesn't want him in his town. For the main characters, Bill is the only one that really has a reason to go on the offense against It. I suppose the others do so mostly out of loyalty. But the "adults in this town are all creepy" aspect wasn't explored enough that it didn't make sense for them to just go to the police with their info instead.

Doug Walker says it better than I can. He liked it also, but did good at pointing out the types of things I mean. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLN1FwiqGwc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Derived Absurdity · Post by **Derived Absurdity** » Mon Dec 03, 2018 5:57 pm

The clown always being conventionally scary was a problem in the book too, so in that sense it was pretty good as an adaptation.

Raxivace · Post by **Raxivace** » Mon Dec 03, 2018 10:54 pm

The way I saw it was that were supposed to be some kind of "uncanny valley" thing going on with Pennywise- that he thinks he has taken on a child friendly form but still comes off looking like a distorted 19th century circus clown- as out of time as he is out of place in those sewers.

I also don't really agree that the thing about the adults not being properly established as bad. I think like all of them are shown in a negative light to some extent. The kids' parents are all shitty (And one of them even watches Pennywise on TV at one point IIRC), Bowers' dad is abusing him (Which in this version is more why he lashes out again Mike, I think, in addition any racial prejudices he might possess. I think this is an instant where changing the setting from the 50's to the 80's probably does alter a fundamental aspect of how the character acts), the creepo pharmacist, the adults that calmly just drive by while seeing the kids in a fight (I think they even have a balloon in their backseat) etc.

Last note- I didn't watch that particular video but Doug Walker is a terrible critic who knows absolutely nothing about film and art. This is a guy who's idea of a "hot take" is "Wait a second is Eyes Wide Shut not just pornography???" for god's sake.

Post by **Gendo** » Tue Dec 04, 2018 3:07 am

From the posts of yours that I've read, I can believe that you have more of a film critic's eye than Doug Walker... given that he is a mix between film critic and entertainer, I could see why some people more serious about film may not like him. But I'm a fan... I feel that in addition to simply getting enjoyment from his videos, I've gotten a deeper appreciation for film and art... he may not know more than the average critic, but I believe he knows more than I do.