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Rate the last movie you've seen
oohhboy:
Ghost in the Shell.
This is a patch work of the best of Ghost in the Shell scenes.
The problem is that they don't copy them close enough. Instead of ripping them wholesale or be homages they try to do their own thing but they can't measure up to the original scenes for a variety of reasons.
They copy and twist the scenes without understanding why they worked in the first place. A lot of the originals bath in the excess in both pauses and violence. The silence of dripping water, the slow motion destruction, the massive bloody messes and the matching body count brought about by overmatching fire power from both sides.
The night club/Yakuza office should have been a amazing blood bath but nah, just have the guys pointlessly attempt to rape the major instead of bringing Togusa who freaks out a little about Batou's methods.
They also drop a lot of references of which some of them are massive plot points and driver of the entire movie like the Geshias asking for help that are reduced to red herrings. Gabriel the dog scene are completely superfluous and misses the point of Batou having a dog in the first place. They also waste time giving Batou his eyes.
The movie is just too dark in fair number of places especially the final fight. The originals were never shy about showing what was happening. It took responsibility of what they put on screen.
There is just no team dynamic outside of the Major and Batou and even then it is a bit far to overt. Aramaki gives orders but no one ever listens to him and he isn't the spy master he should be. I give a lot of points for them going out there by letting him speak full on Japanese and gave him a badass scene even though it was out of character and pointless.
The movie also lacked an overriding message. It wasn't really about the state of humanity, surveillance state, massive technological invasion, concern for the public safety, questions about section 9's methods or transcendence. This is brought about by stringing all these scenes which all have different messages. The only stand out thing is that section 9 is a hit squad and have little concern for anybody or the public good.
The one of massive points I give is the casting. Absolutely spot on. They not only look the part but how they carry themselves is in character even if the plot points they have to go through don't really reflect that. If they ever make another live action GitS movie I would pick no other.
Another great thing is the small details. The android office ladies all looking the same. The displays with the circular interface. The opening scene showing a body being assembled. Togusa's weapon. The briefcase guns. The overall look of the faceless SWAT and security teams. The vehicles. The world at large which is a hair too blade runner which isn't set in Japan but in a Hong Kong like area.
I really wished they had just ripped sequences wholesale as the originals were just spectacular and unbeatable. They came close to this with the fight with the garbage man. If you can't beat them, join them.
It really needed some full on violence instead of this bloodless genericness. Maybe not minced meat in an armoured car, but something.
I am also very disappointed and frustrated that this was yet again another origin story. Please Hollywood, fucking stop it. A chuck of this time was spent ass covering for the accusation of whitewashing the Major who doesn't have a back story. She lost that long ago and is part of her character as she isn't meant to know herself hence her pursuit about the identity of others.
Was it worth going to the cinema? Sort of not really. If you are a fan you will get a buzz here and there all hte while gulping down references. Anyone else will feel like it's another generic action movie with a couple good scenes that come out of nowhere. Both would wonder what the movie is trying to tell us.
Go watch John Wick 2
6/10
Silenced:
I've grown progressively more obsessed with In Bruges the more times I watch it. At this point I believe it busted into my top 10, which is about as organized as a Pollock painting.
nickmitch:
--- Quote from: Brandogg on March 28, 2017, 10:13:45 PM ---Beauty and the Beast - 9/10
I honestly can't believe I'm saying that, or would have before seeing it, but holy crap, it was excellent. Maybe it's a bit of nostalgia kicking in, but they really nailed it, as far as converting the animated movie into live action - and actually improved a bit upon the story. There were several moments where my allergies started acting up...
--- End quote ---
I saw this and don't think I posted about it.
It's really freaking good. Unlike La La Land, if someone was on screen, singing by themselves, they were a good fucking singer. Where the movie shines best is where it adds to the original. There's more back story on what happened with the prince in the prologue. There's more references to the story's setting being in France. There's more romance between Belle and the Beast. There's more character to the Beast and Gaston (who is less rapey, but still not likable in the end). The ending has more closure.
That said, the movie is both more an less French. There's so many people with English accents! The new songs aren't mindblowing and feel more like songs that were cut from the original for not being as good. They're quality in terms of what they bring, just not something you'll be singing in the shower. The movie goes out of its way to demonstrate that Belle is an outcast for being smart. It also felt like there was just too much set up for the "Be Our Guest" number, just so they can explain recreating the original scene in the more realistic world they painted.
This is definitely a good watch. It highlights the best of the original while feeling like its own thing. Disney is really knocking it out with these live action adaptations.
8.5/10
nickmitch:
The Fate of the Furious
OMG! This movie had everything. I'll admit, I didn't quite get this franchise at first, but it might be perfect.
So, as you may have seen from the previews or the official movie poster, they're racing a fucking submarine and Vin Diesel has gone rogue. You might be wondering how they explain all this, and I think the film does a great job of doing it. I was worried about the plot setting up the premise the most. The story, however, does a good job of explaining things. The setting also helps explain why they can try to out drive a submarine (it's in Russia). The movie opens up with a classic series street race with absurd shenanigans. Then it goes right into why Dom goes rogue. They don't show you until much later, but it isn't just that he was magically brainwashed.
This movie was just about everything I needed with one nagging plot hole. Tyrese is pretty much all comedy all the time. The Rock lays the smack down. Everyone else is also there. There's great tension with the main villain is kind of retconned into being the big bad of the franchise. There's tons of classic Hollywood tropes, especially around acting, but I've already accepted that's just how this movie-verse works. You should too.
One thing I really love the characters are all having kids. Which makes me think they're investing in future proofing the franchise so that Fast 16 can star The Rock's daughter and Dom's son. <-Huge plot point spoiler, BTW.
Fast 8: 9/10
There's also the elephant in the room: Paul Walker's death is largely unmentioned. The film moves on without him. There's a brief moment where the characters are struggling with what to do and how to stop Dom. But someone says the team has already decided not to involve Paul Walker's character in anything. I thought there was a point where he could've been killed off screen, but they went in a different direction. However, I think not harping on it was actually the best approach, but canonically, his absence is pretty felt, especially at the very end. And I'm sure it will going forward. (I kinda wanted to end that thought with "for the next quarter mile, and each one after", but I thought that was cheesy. Feel free to sub it in if i gives you good feels.)
Silenced:
That's quite a bold rating there eh
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