[quote=“RobotMitchell, post:259, topic:73”]
If I didn’t know it was Edgar Wright, I also would have dismissed it from the trailer. It is very much taking classic heist movie tropes and putting them through a super stylized musical filter. Instead of everyone breaking out in dance, the action happens in time with the music; hopefully that helps convey the tone.
[/quote]Yeah, I think I messed up with the Hudson Hawk bit - I meant, in the sense of timing action along with music in a very overt way, rather than being a straight-out comedy.
I went into the movie not knowing much about it and not having scene a frame of the trailers. I knew it referenced 70s heist/driver movies which I have never watched and Edger Wright was directing it and that was enough.
I am actually surprised at how much “Not a comedy” I found it - I found the majority of it a very sincere drama and the second half very tense all the way to the end. I was watching a review after and it mentioned an Edger Wright short called “Blues Song” and it is amazing how not comedic scenes from the movie are which uses the same set up is compared with that 2003 short:
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I went into it the same way and I thought it was awesome. I agree with the criticisms that the love interest was handled in a very old-fashioned (main character’s only motivation/damsel in distress) way, but I loved the mix of fast chases, high tension, the choreography of action with the music, and just enough humor to keep it from getting too serious. It’s not something I think deserves seeing again in theaters, but I will definitely want to see it again at home sometime.
Katie and I also saw Moana finally, now that it’s on Netflix streaming. Like most Disney movies it was really good, but it feels like it sticks to the formula a bit too much to standout like Zootopia does. I also would’ve liked it more if the chicken was not there at all. I get why, but I’m really sick of that trope.
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Stalker (1979) didn’t do anything for me. I was expecting plodding, Russian scifi, and plod it did. This was a digital restoration on the big screen, and it looked pretty, but I expected something in the way of plot with my ennui and token religious imagery.
Saw “The Nice Guys” recently. It’s very much a “rose colored view” of Hollywood in the '70s and plays out like your typical “LA action movie”.
It’s a solid movie, but it’s not for everyone. In the first 5 minutes there’s an outrageous car accident, where a female porn star dies and she ends up sprawled out in pose that could have boon out of a Magazine.
Also finally got around to seeing Batman vs. Superman, meh. Affleck does a good Batman, but Eisenburg’s Luthor is terrible. Kinda felt sorry for Senator Holly Hunter and how much shit she had to put up with. Classy.
Transformers 4: Age of Extinction - Better than 2 & 3, but still has the obnoxious “Father-Daughter-Boyfriend” bullshit. Ending action seen went on way too long.
I only mention the above two movies now because I refuse to watch either of them without the ability to pause the movie or fast forward through the parts I had no patience for.
The Lion King movie isn’t very good, but now I’ve listened to the original broadway cast album of the musical, the album version is now the canonical version in my head. The story, characters and songs are all better in the musical version (I’ve not seen the show live, just heard the cat recording).
Rewatched Summer Wars tonight because I wanted to (it’s Summer after all). Not ashamed to say I still cry every time at multiple scenes. I just love this movie. It is absolutely wonderful.
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I agree. Considering every Edgar Wright movie is some type of homage to a genre of film making, this was definitely towards James Dean Rebel movies mixed with 70s Heist Fast Cars movies. I saw Baby as a savant who uses music not only for his dehibilitation but his escape and form of comfort by the way he holds onto his iPod and other forms of music. Has really good bits of humor but this doesn’t forget that this is a crime movie at the end of the day. I was worried how Jamie Foxx and Jon Hamm would be in the movie, but they were used particularly well.
Ranking for 2017 movies so far:
- Get Out
- Baby Driver
- Colossal
- Guardians Vol. 2
- Logan
We’re getting good movies this month. Early reviews from Spiderman and War for the Planet of the Apes are INCREDIBLY good.
I watched “The Man Who Knew Too Little.” Classic unwitting hero setup that is marred by nonsensical writing towards the end. It was hard to justify Bill Murray’s ignorance of the situation for the last 30 minutes and the quality of the comedy dropped drastically. I’m a huge sucker for these types of stories where a weak hero gets constantly overestimated by the antagonists and succeed through sheer luck and confidence.
I quite liked the chicken in Moana. Not sure the pig was needed though.
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The pig probably wasn’t needed but it was cute so not entirely unwelcome.
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Okja is a weird movie with massive swings in tone, but somehow holds together for a quite delightful and fun experience.
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Okja
2017
Super pig, everything is inexplicable, got bored and stopped after 15 minutes.
I disagree, but I’m not gonna slam you, everything you leveled at it was valid criticism. Some subjective some objective.
I genuinely enjoyed this song because it’s the first time I can recall two languages being used in the same disney song, I think the stark contrast between how the song sounds like it was designed for Polynesian and when they switch to english it sounds wildly different. The fact that the people on screen are singing while it’s in Polynesian and not english just further reinforces that these are people I couldn’t communicate with. It’s a small gesture but I appreciate it.
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind makes various lists of the “Best Movies Since the Year 2000” variety. And it really is worthy of that consideration. It’s maybe the sixth time I’ve watched it, and it’s still an incredible movie experience unlike any other.
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It actually seemed to me that Moana was a Pixar tech demo stretched out into a full movie. I still recommend it to others.
I remember watching it when it came out, but I don’t think I fully appreciated what it was, then. Probably time I rewatched it with adult brain.
I really really enjoyed the new spider-man film. It was a lot of fun, almost more of a comedy than an action film. They waste zero time on his origin story and instead focused on how his involvement in Civil War has changed him in some ways for the worse since he feels he’s ready for the big time but really has a lot of training/learning/growing up to do.
Also has a TON of great Spider-man is not as effective in the suburb moments. I was rolling in the isle.
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In the past two weeks, I’ve seen the new Spiderman movie and Baby Driver. Both were excellent and highly recommended. Still would like to see the Big Sick, but I can probably wait for that on Netflix.
I finally watched “Stand By Me.” Damn this is a great movie. It really captures the essence of boys trying to have an adventure while trying to deal with real world circumstances. I didn’t know Wil Wheaton did anything besides being an annoying brat on Star Trek TNG. He’s actually really good in this, as is the rest of the cast.
There’s definitely some lines where its obvious that its kids acting but most of it comes off authentic. I’d say its a solid 9/10.
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