The Latest Movie/TV show You Watched Topic 2.0

[Megalon7]

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I also watched The Haunting (1963 version) the night before last. My first time seeing it. It was a lot more creepy than I expected. I really enjoyed it.

Ever seen The Nostalgia Critic's review of the shitty remake?

Not yet. I'll watch it soon. Probably a better alternative to actually watching the remake.

[ernesth100]

Riverdale just saw the first episode. Amazing show. So much drama. Perfect acting. Highly recommend

[3000]

Hell Or High Water (2016) 8/10


Logan Lucky (2017) 7.5/10

[eabaker]

I also watched The Haunting (1963 version) the night before last. My first time seeing it. It was a lot more creepy than I expected. I really enjoyed it.

One of my absolute favorites, and a rare case where I'd call the movie superior to the novel on which it's based (although the novel is pretty great, too).

Curious about your interpretation of the events in the movie. I've long been in the camp that reads it as

Spoiler:

Eleanore actually causing the specific phenomena that occur while they're in the house.

[Megalon7]

I also watched The Haunting (1963 version) the night before last. My first time seeing it. It was a lot more creepy than I expected. I really enjoyed it.

One of my absolute favorites, and a rare case where I'd call the movie superior to the novel on which it's based (although the novel is pretty great, too).

Curious about your interpretation of the events in the movie. I've long been in the camp that reads it as

Spoiler:

Eleanore actually causing the specific phenomena that occur while they're in the house.

I believe I'm in the same camp. That seems to be what was indicated and nothing else makes more sense, imo. It's definitely a movie I plan on revisiting eventually.

[Rody]

I finally saw Wonder Woman yesterday, and was very impressed. It's an overall solid production with a compelling cast of characters and a great moral theme. This honestly might be one of the best superhero movies recently - it certainly stand head-and-shoulders over the rest of the DCEU so far (although I haven't seen JL yet).

I put in my Signature Edition Blu-ray of Bambi today, an oh, this movie is beautiful - far more so than our old VHS copy could convey! It's really remarkable how Disney's crew were able to present a realistic depiction of nature and a cartoon adventure in one film.

I also finally got back to the Planet of the Apes franchise with Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. This is a pretty heavy-handed entry, but it is pretty exciting watching Caesar change into the vengeful rebel who brings revolution by the film's climax. I look forward to finishing the classic series soon.

[eabaker]

I also finally got back to the Planet of the Apes franchise with Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. This is a pretty heavy-handed entry, but it is pretty exciting watching Caesar change into the vengeful rebel who brings revolution by the film's climax. I look forward to finishing the classic series soon.

Heavy handed, yes, but I love it just the same.

Did you watch the theatrical cut or the director's cut?

[Rody]

^Probably the theatrical cut; it was playing on TV, so I don't really know.

[godzilla98rules]

Here's my review of Justice League:

[Jeff-Goldblum1]

Godzilla Vs Hedorah

Would you say this movie is an art film?

It certainly is unique. Maybe it's more appropriately just a weird cult film.

[eabaker]

Godzilla Vs Hedorah

Would you say this movie is an art film?

It certainly is unique. Maybe it's more appropriately just a weird cult film.

"Art film" is such a weird term...

It's definitely heavily influenced by the contemporary art scene of its era.

[godzillafan1954]

Kong: Skull Island - Didn't even see the whole film and wow. It is simply fantastic. I can definitely say it's better than Godzilla. 9/10

[Zarm]

The Orville just keeps getting better and better. It feels like watching Star Trek again. And it's become quite astrong piece, of both science fiction and character development, in its own right.

Sad that there's only one episode left this season.

[MechaGoji Bro7503]

In the process of watching Pan's Lybrinth , and I thought Godzilla vs Hedorah was a weird masterpiece!

[eabaker]

Re-watched The Force Awakens in anticipation of The Last Jedi.

Having recently re-watched Rogue One, I was struck this time by the different ways in which the two movies are flawed.

The force Awakens is very clear in its sense of characterization and emotional arcs. Rey, Finn, Kylo Ren and Han Solo are all well established, and their growth/transformations over the course of the movie feel organic and involving; I care about them. Unfortunately, at a plot level, it really falls apart mid-way through; having clearly established "find Luke Skywalker" as its objective, it suddenly introduces a super-weapon out of the blue, destroys a system that has been unmentioned up to this point but which one can just piece together is hugely important to the New Republic, turns the destruction of this base into the third act objective, and never directly links these events with the disappearance of/search for Luke. Then, the resolution of what was initially the primary thrust of the narrative is handed to us incredibly conveniently, and serves as more of an epilogue than a climax.

Rogue One, while an obvious patchwork, at least always knows what the objective of its plot is (obtain the Death Star plans), and keeps moving toward that. Alas, while having some intriguing supporting characters, it doesn't really know how to handle its leads. Jyn and Cassian may state their motivations from time to time (though more often it seems like other people state Jyn's), but they don't really do very much based on those motivations, and when they undergo changes of heart, it happens not because of any discernible transformations they've undergone as people, but simply because the plot now needs them to have a shift in perspective.

[Zarm]

I really need to re-watch TFA; I've only seen it the once in the theaters. But while my reasons are slightly different, I feel the same way... the film makes a sudden swerve that really hampers it, and the climax feels unfortunately anti-climactic because of its disconnect (for me, emotionally instead of narratively, but now that you see it, I can see the narrative issues, too.)

[eabaker]

I really need to re-watch TFA; I've only seen it the once in the theaters. But while my reasons are slightly different, I feel the same way... the film makes a sudden swerve that really hampers it, and the climax feels unfortunately anti-climactic because of its disconnect (for me, emotionally instead of narratively, but now that you see it, I can see the narrative issues, too.)

For me, the lightsaber duel has emotional impact, but the larger battle does not.

[Zarm]

For me, it did not (though the last person I discussed it with felt as you did); but much larger, it is missing a sense of catharsis or any big celebratory moment, which Star Wars films almost invariably (minus those intended to be tragedy) have as a sort of emotional palette cleanser; whether what preceded was triumph or darkness, there's a victory (large or small), an emotional regrouping and release for the tension.

Firstly, TFA (to me) made the mistake of grafting a tragedy-Star-Wars (in the vein of ROTS) onto a film that had been strictly action-adventure Star Wars (in the mold of ANH), resulting in tonal whiplash. (And far more dark and horrific than the equivalent character losses in ANH and TMP, not to mention the real-world factor of 35+ years of character attachment, a generation growing up). This didn't work, to me- but could have yet been salvaged with a cathartic moment.

However, Williams chose to downplay the score, eschewing fanfare or pulse-racing music*. Poe's victory is rather perfunctorily portrayed; Rey's 'triumphant' return is both unexpected and thematically empty (it doesn't represent the culmination, fulfillment, or overcoming of anything except in a very abstract sense, and since she's been shown succeeding so effortlessly in her escape**, it lacks an underdog-comeback feel or even any real tension on whether she'll remain victorious). The unfinished ending of the duel likewise denies catharsis (it may be emotionally charged, but lacks emotional release without its resolution). The destruction eschews a large, exciting bang in favor of a Star Trek '09-style slow, ethereal, special-effects showcase destruction, which is pretty but lacks excitement.

At this point, even Abrams has admitted he knew the movie had swerved into 'downer' territory and needed that emotional lift. He posited R2 awakening; for me, it was far too pat, unmotivated, and expected to be in any way triumphant and cheering. (And is then followed by a scene three times as long as it needs to be, as R2 projects a map with a hole, BB-8 projects a map the shape of the hole, the two bring them together, and everyone treats it like a revelation that they match.)

Then the ending is, of course, perhaps the most unresolved in Star Wars history (and again, while it is excellent, it doesn't fulfill the catharsis role being sought), while musically, both the transition into the credits and the end of the credits themselves, traditional locations of bombast, are very quiet.


Of course, catharsis or uplifting are in the eye of the beholder. I feel a bit vindicated that even Abrams knew something was needed (even if the R2 scene he calculated to bring it fails in that role, to me)- but even so, how well the ending works sits with the average viewer. For me, the death scene was a dark swerve in a story whose emotional framework did not support it (as opposed to, say, some of the similarly-dark moments in ROTS, whose emotional tone was congruous with them)... and the needed emotional surge or release that Star Wars traditionally ends with which could have made that choice work (because while it wasn't my favorite, and I think it was tonally misplaced, I do think it was a potentially valid choice that could have worked within the frame work) were missing or misjudged in execution and fail to bring the necessary closure or uplift. In fact, every single one of them makes the choice so opposite, and in such concert (it could've worked as Abrams filmed it if Williams scored it differently, it could have worked as Williams scored it if it had been scripted differently, etc.) that it becomes an almost-unfathomable conflux of wrong choices that prevent, for me, the last 15 minutes from sticking the landing despite an excellent buildup and genuinely-likable characters.

In short, I thought the movie was great (though it may not sound like it)- right up until the ending, where it faltered badly and left a bad taste in my mouth leaving the theater.


*Which isn't to say that much of the score, like Rey's theme and the ending, aren't magnificent, as his usual. But they lack the necessary fanfare/catharsis (to drag out two words I've overused here) in the ending section. Also, is it just me, or does the Resistance theme sound more like a bad-guy theme, like something for a bumbling gestapo or ominous mercenary army in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, than hero music?

**I won't go whole-hog into 'Mary Sue' territory, but I do think her character development and effectiveness as a character was shot in the foot a bit by having her be so naturally good at everything and rescue herself. I know they wanted a strong female lead, but total self-sufficiency doesn't imbue your character with strength, it just steals their basic identifiability and interest. They become Superman, and nothing they do in the film is that interesting or tense because there's no threat or precedence for their failure; victory is a foregone conclusion. (This may be, in part, what robbed the saber fight of some of its impact, for me). No one that I can think of in the films didn't need rescuing at some point- even in ANH, Luke needed rescue from the Sand People, the garbage masher, Vader; Leia needed rescue from imprisonment- Han and Chewie came close to being totally self-sufficient, but still needed to be saved in the garbage masher, while 3PO and R2 needed rescue from the elements, Jawas, Tuskens, and Vader's laser canons. I wish they had made Rey require a little help; it would've gone a long way toward humanizing her and adding some tension in the final fight. As it was, she was the character I connected with least, because I felt she had no identifiable traits or foibles for me to latch onto or empathize with the way I did with Finn and Poe.

[eabaker]

I agree with a ton of what you say in this post, but I particularly wanted to zero in on this:

Poe's victory is rather perfunctorily portrayed

After seeing the movie half a dozen times, never once do I recall actually being aware of the moment at which this victory actually occurs. There are ships flying around firing lasers, and then there aren't anymore.

As for the final fight, you're dead right about all the reasons Rey does not (yet) quite connect as a character, and I think I end up taking in that duel, at least partly, from Kylo Ren's perspective.

[Zarm]

After seeing the movie half a dozen times, never once do I recall actually being aware of the moment at which this victory actually occurs. There are ships flying around firing lasers, and then there aren't anymore.

I know, right? That's part of why bringing in X-wings and seeing them in action in the recent Star Wars: Rebels episodes have been so satisfying- because even though we got X-wing dogfighting action after all these years in TFA, we didn't get it presented in any way that captured what made it exciting in the originals.

As for the final fight, you're dead right about all the reasons Rey does not (yet) quite connect as a character, and I think I end up taking in that duel, at least partly, from Kylo Ren's perspective.

Well, that makes sense, too- much as he's loathsome at that point, we've seen his inner demons and struggles, and the wound-pounding gives us a very visceral, empathizable reminder of his pain and difficulty. It doesn't make him likable, but he's conflicted and hurting, and that's very human- so we have a point of identification to relate to.