Movies

[Stuart Galbraith]

2 hours ago, Skywalkre said:

Seen this on reddit a few times in recent days - Godzilla Minus One was created with half the budget of what went into every episode of Disney+'s Acolyte series.

I only made it halfway through that film, but they deserve a lot of praise for what they managed to accomplish with that budget (which then begs the question, where the hell is all that money going in Acolyte?!).

 

[bojan]

6 hours ago, Skywalkre said:

...where the hell is all that money going in Acolyte?!).

Salaries for "divergence consultants"  

[Yama]

On 6/15/2024 at 4:41 PM, TrustMe said:

Okay, finished watching Tenet. I got the basic plot but not all the understanding temporal stuff. Still good fight scenes and certainly a unique film, I rate it 4/5.

Big climatic fight scene was a huge mess though: I really could not see what was happening, until they actually stopped fighting. Maybe I will rewatch it sometimes, maybe it will make more sense then, but that sequence took it down a notch for me from 'awesome'.

But I think it actually made more sense plot-wise than 'Inception'.

Edited June 18, 2024 by Yama

[Stuart Galbraith]

I dont think Inception didnt say anything that Dreamscape didnt do better nearly 30 years earlier.

[rmgill]

On 3/13/2024 at 4:49 PM, Ssnake said:

The biggest fault, I think, lies in not explaining that you can't use force shields on the ground because it attracts sandworms, and that you can't shoot force shields with rayguns because, thermonuclear explosion. If you aren't aware of those premises, you keep scratching your head about seemingly uneven use of them in the various battle scenes.

I always thought the use of Ornithopters themselves was a dispensation of the Holtzman field generator derived suspensor lift tech. 

And yes. Not knowing the dangerous interaction between lasers and the Holtzman Shields is a point of confusion for tactics minded folks. But then a swarm of Shield equipped Ornithopters over the desert would also attract worms. So lots of liberties taken to make strong powerful scenes. 

[rmgill]

7 hours ago, Skywalkre said:

I only made it halfway through that film, but they deserve a lot of praise for what they managed to accomplish with that budget (which then begs the question, where the hell is all that money going in Acolyte?!).

Shoring up Girl Power. 

[Ivanhoe]

7 hours ago, Skywalkre said:

I only made it halfway through that film, but they deserve a lot of praise for what they managed to accomplish with that budget (which then begs the question, where the hell is all that money going in Acolyte?!).

Given the way Hollywood works, bribing news/entertainment outlets.

I've no doubt that there are quite a few Disney execs using "production" money to build themselves golden parachutes. There's nothing quite as crooked as entertainment industry accounting in CA.

[TrustMe]

2 hours ago, Yama said:

Big climatic fight scene was a huge mess though: I really could not see what was happening, until they actually stopped fighting. Maybe I will rewatch it sometimes, maybe it will make more sense then, but that sequence took it down a notch for me from 'awesome'.

But I think it actually made more sense plot-wise than 'Inception'.

I've never seen Inception so I can't comment.

[Ivanhoe]

2 hours ago, TrustMe said:

I've never seen Inception so I can't comment.

Its a good movie, quite a bit better than the usual brainless swill pumped out by Hollywood.

 

[Soren Ras]

Say what you will about Christopher Nolan. At least he generally tries and succeeds in making original movies (the Batman trilogy notwithstanding), with some novel concepts and ideas, and not just tired retreads or sequels or remakes. You can argue the extent to which he succeeds in each particular endeavour, but I always respect his attempts. 

 

Soren

[Ssnake]

Also, Interstellar, Inception, Tenet, and arguably even Memento and Dunkirk are all about the perception of time.

[Stuart Galbraith]

I thought Dunkirk was really damn well done. It was the first time I got an inkling of what it must have been like for my grandfather on that beach. The timing could easily have been confusing. Strangely it seem to make the whole thing come alive.

[Yama]

3 hours ago, Stuart Galbraith said:

I thought Dunkirk was really damn well done. It was the first time I got an inkling of what it must have been like for my grandfather on that beach. The timing could easily have been confusing. Strangely it seem to make the whole thing come alive.

I have to say that Dunkirk was a mild disappointment. Its three-pronged structure was interesting and workable, but actual depiction of the battle was too 'small' and clean. Also the endlessly gliding Spitfire in the end was stupid.

I actually think Prestige is his best movie. Bit hard to follow with its jumping timelines however. Dark Knight Rises is an obvious misfire.

 

On 6/18/2024 at 6:38 PM, Ivanhoe said:

Its a good movie, quite a bit better than the usual brainless swill pumped out by Hollywood.

I love it, but its internal logic is very muddled, especially towards the end. The cast is more interesting than in Tenet, though.

 

[futon]

Of the very few movies I see in theater, Dunkirk was one of them, and I thought it was good.

I think it's aim was a close up feeling that can be personally touch.

For example, any scenes showing big air battles would take away scene time of being in the cockpit, hearing the rattling, the breathing, the feeling of the goggles, little things like scribbling notes for fuel time keeping. From this perspective of immersion, the air battles were really well done. 

[Soren Ras]

7 hours ago, Yama said:

I actually think Prestige is his best movie. Bit hard to follow with its jumping timelines however. Dark Knight Rises is an obvious misfire.

 

I would not say Prestige is his best movie, but it is highly enjoyable and certainly more rewatchable than some of the bigger Nolan productions. I remember some friends discussing it and one of the group did not know what movie they were talking about, so someone said "it is the one where David Bowie helps Wolverine fight the Batman" which is both a funny and semi-accurate summary.

 

Soren

[Yama]

8 hours ago, futon said:

For example, any scenes showing big air battles would take away scene time of being in the cockpit, hearing the rattling, the breathing, the feeling of the goggles, little things like scribbling notes for fuel time keeping. From this perspective of immersion, the air battles were really well done. 

Yes aerial portions of the film were really good (except the aforementioned ending), especially when compared to usual cartoony junk a'la Pearl Harbor. Also liked how actor kept the mask on almost all the time, and not dramatically take it off "to catch his breath" (?!) as we just have to see the face of the Big Star, lest we forget who it was.

 

1 hour ago, Soren Ras said:

I would not say Prestige is his best movie, but it is highly enjoyable and certainly more rewatchable than some of the bigger Nolan productions. I remember some friends discussing it and one of the group did not know what movie they were talking about, so someone said "it is the one where David Bowie helps Wolverine fight the Batman" which is both a funny and semi-accurate summary.

 I did not actually recognize David Bowie (he was not followed much here, and I had only seen him in decades old pics and films). I was just wondering "Wow! Who is this crazy charismatic dude they got to play Tesla?" Also the movie presented him as a huge show-off, which he was.

[Stuart Galbraith]

9 hours ago, futon said:

Of the very few movies I see in theater, Dunkirk was one of them, and I thought it was good.

I think it's aim was a close up feeling that can be personally touch.

For example, any scenes showing big air battles would take away scene time of being in the cockpit, hearing the rattling, the breathing, the feeling of the goggles, little things like scribbling notes for fuel time keeping. From this perspective of immersion, the air battles were really well done. 

I think it was based upon Roger Bushell, whom later went on to be one of the great escapers.

That sequence got a lot of criticism, not least because how much ammunition his spitfire had (In real life its was 8 seconds IIRC). I figured out though, that if the director had show how many missions that had been flown that day, he would ahve been flying home, watching his kite get rearmed, drink tea, take off, splash a hung, go home, have a piss, drink tea, rearm, takeoff, and so on and so on. Which would have ruined the continuity, even if it would have been accurate.

Yes, for me I think it was very well done. Though as Yama said, perhaps the gliding Spitfire sequence was just a bit over done. Good point also Yama about keeping the mask on. Shades of Terry Gilliams Brazil, where he hires Robert De Niro, and keeps his face hidden in most of the film behind a Balaclava.

 

Edited June 20, 2024 by Stuart Galbraith

[Ivanhoe]

Bond films, ranked;

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/best-james-bond-films-ranked-151500405.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

I disagree with many of the assessments, but I am pleased that The Living Daylights and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service got some recognition.

Skyfall would easily be in my top 10, and I would put GoldenEye well ahead of Quantum of Solace.

[Stuart Galbraith]

First two I agree with. In fact the guy playing Kerim Bay, Pedro  Armendáriz, was suffering from terminal cancer at the time, and was determined to turn a career best performance. Which he did.

OHMSS was not a bad film. I think the main problem with it is that its too long. I think they could have easily trimmed quarter of an hour off it and it would have been a lot tighter. For that reason I wouldnt put it in the top three. Top 10, certainly. Id have swapped places with Casino Royale, which is a much tighter, more rounded film (and its got Eva Green in it, one of the best Bond heroines).

For your eyes only is far better than Quantum of Solace. Cant think what the hell they were thinking there.

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

Incidentally,  this is quite interesting.

https://www.reddit.com/r/JamesBond/s/N0kLjHNCMN

[lucklucky]

Since Beretta were quite good weapons it do not make sense or just the anti-southern Europe British bias.

[Soren Ras]

18 hours ago, Stuart Galbraith said:

Incidentally,  this is quite interesting.

https://www.reddit.com/r/JamesBond/s/N0kLjHNCMN

Nice little touch that Fleming subsequently named Bond's quartermaster Major Boothroyd, and they even included a scene with the switch from Beretta to Walther in Dr. No. courtesy of Boothroyd (played by Peter Burton before Desmond Llewelyn took over the role, though he was just referred to as Q  instead of Boothroyd in most of the films).

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

1 hour ago, lucklucky said:

Since Beretta were quite good weapons it do not make sense or just the anti-southern Europe British bias.

.25 though. On the shooting range he made a convincing case the PPK had better stopping power.  Although yes, personally Id have prefered Q to come up with a PPK frame .44 magnum.

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

25 minutes ago, Soren Ras said:

Nice little touch that Fleming subsequently named Bond's quartermaster Major Boothroyd, and they even included a scene with the switch from Beretta to Walther in Dr. No. courtesy of Boothroyd (played by Peter Burton before Desmond Llewelyn took over the role, though he was just referred to as Q  instead of Boothroyd in most of the films).

 

They do a parody of this scene in 'The Ipcress file'.

 

[bojan]

5 hours ago, lucklucky said:

Since Beretta were quite good weapons it do not make sense or just the anti-southern Europe British bias.

.380 or .32 Beretta 34/35 was described by one Yugoslav partisan as "good to shoot rabid dog", which was basically saying "not good for anything else".  My translation of the original text:

Quote

"There was a Beretta pistol, good to shoot rabid dog, Beretta SMG that everyone desired more then a good girl, hand grenade good for (accidentally) killing yourself if you slip and fall (extremely unsafe fuse), nice rifle for children, good heavy Breda, and everything else a heavy (real) shit. Oh, and also nice and light mortar, but it's ammo was an utter crap (lit. translation is "naked dick" and is used for something so substandard it is absolutely useless in any case).

OTOH, it was popular trophy pistol, but I am not sure if anyone considered it, or any other pistol serious weapon for fighting war.

Edited June 24, 2024 by bojan