Topic: Rate the last movie you've seen

[Morari]

They all look the same to me.

Racist.

[broodwars]

While I was in picking up my Evangelion 2.22 Blu-Ray (which is next on my watch list), I noticed my local MovieStop was selling quite a few Blu-Rays for $10.  I ended up walking out with the Blu-Ray Skynet Edition of Terminator 2 (which I now read has video issues.  Joy.) and the Blu-Ray of the two animated Ultimate Avengers movies.

I actually saw the two Avengers animated movies years ago when they first released.  At the time, I had never heard of the Avengers, let alone their Ultimates counterparts.  At the time, I couldn't really get into the movies, as I was and am a big Spider-man fan and I couldn't understand why I should care about a team that has superficially lame members like Giant Man and The Wasp when you could have ass-kickers like Spider-man.  I also remember finding the animation and villains pretty underwhelming.

Well, it's been quite a few years later and I am much more knowledgeable about these characters (and have actually read a good 6 or so issues of the Ultimates comic book).  Watching these movies now, I do enjoy them more now for what they are, but objectively they are pretty weak.  The main villains of both movies are Nazi aliens (yes, seriously), and as Film Brain would say "when you need to add substance to your ****ty movie, just add Nazis!"  Their motivations are weak and nonsensical (why do they need vibranium when their entire race seems to be made of it?), and the parts of the original comic changed to accommodate them are nowhere near as strong or interesting as in the original comics.  So yeah...no attempted superhero manslaughter or sex-crazed Hulk now.  I can't say I miss the latter, but the conflict introduced by the former was interesting in the original story.

It doesn't help as well that the animation is very weak.  Marvel in general seems to have a problem in these direct-to-DVD "movies" where the animation is drawn extremely flat, with very little shading or shadows to add depth to a shot.  This animation is poor even by 2006 standards, looking like low-budget Korean-drawn television animation.  The Blu-Ray transfer looks decent enough, but this animation is so flat I don't really see a noticeable quality increase over the original DVD transfer.

Still, for its flaws, the movies are enjoyable enough in having some respectable action sequences and decent characterization.  Pity Marvel never continued down this path and actually did more Ultimates movies that go into how severely messed-up that book is.  Oh well, at least we got the pretty-good Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes TV series, which blow these out of the water quite easily.

So...yeah.  On to Evangelion 2.22.  I've been really looking forward to that movie since I was pretty blown-away by the surprisingly awesome 1.11 movie.

[Stogi]

L.A. Confidential

9/10

God I love movies like this. The acting is top notch; the characters appropriate and well rounded; the nudity, never overtly sexual, but always classy; and the plot intriguing and plausible.

We need more of these types of films.

[broodwars]

Evangelion 2.22 - These Subtitles Are (Not) Silly & Pretentious - Last year, I was pleasantly surprised by the first Evangelion 1.11 movie.  Despite being more than a little too faithful to the original TV series (Gainax literally redrew animation frames from the original series for shot-by-shot identical sequences), I found 1.11 increasingly awesome as it approached its conclusion, slowly changing elements minor and major to set the stage for a seemingly major departure from the original series.  So now comes the highly-hyped Evangelion 2.22, based on sections of probably my favorite period of the TV series (roughly episodes 8-18) and...well, I can't help but feel a little disappointed.  Don't get me wrong: this is definitely a much more enjoyable and much tighter-written film than the TV series often was, with its cast feeling much more like fleshed-out characters than the archetypes they were previously.  And the film is a visual marvel, beautifully drawn and awe-inspiring in the sheer amount of crazy **** thrown up on-screen.

That said, despite the addition of a new EVA pilot and some tonal changes between battles, this film really isn't that different from the TV series its based on.  Characters might be in different places during major events with slightly different roles and the overall story is much tighter, better told, and more interesting, but the movie still hits the same basic story beats and doesn't diverge as much as I had hoped.  I was hoping this newer, more optimistic film series might be shying away from some of the half-assed (literally, they're just there to "look cool") biblical undertones and technobabble in favor of a more character-based story.  But no, we're still on a collision course with Instrumentality and the ensuing insanity that is remaking the COMPLETELY nonsensical End of Evangelion movie.  The new pilot character certainly had potential to shake things up, but she just flits her way in and out of the movie and in the end we don't really know much about her except that she's a more psychotic version of Asuka.  There's also some really odd musical choices, such as playing this happy little song about friendship while incredibly violent things are happening on-screen, which I suppose is meant to be ironic.

Overall, it's a good movie and a visual spectacle to watch (with an excellent dub that certainly puts the original to shame), but if you've already seen the TV series there just isn't that much new here that really changes the overall story.

[Caliban]

Why don't they just make a prequel series. This is just milking it too far, and it's all because the fanboys weren't happy with how the TV series ended.

[broodwars]

Why don't they just make a prequel series. This is just milking it too far, and it's all because the fanboys weren't happy with how the TV series ended.

Well, what I don't understand is why, if the whole goal of this project is to create a new Evangelion, why they don't just go all the way and make a new Evangelion?  The new movies are great, but they still cling more or less to the same story as the TV series with very few major changes, just with a happier dynamic between the characters and some revelations rearranged so they occur earlier or slightly differently than they did before.  As for a prequel series, if they were to do that they'd lose their major marketing element in the Evangelions themselves, since the things were in the prototype stages when both the series and movies begin.

I hesitate to call these movies "milking the franchise too far."  Sure, I have issues with the lack of entirely new material in the story, but these are genuinely better experiences than the TV series and they don't feel like a cheap cash-in with the lavish animation and changes to character relationships.  And considering all the crap in anime these days, I don't mind a decade-old franchise returning with a fresh dose of what used to make anime awesome.

[Caliban]

Well, what I don't understand is why, if the whole goal of this project is to create a new Evangelion, why they don't just go all the way and make a new Evangelion?

That's why I said that it's milking it too far. It's not new, nor is it just adding some new elements such as animation or plot. It's pure rehash.

As for a prequel series, if they were to do that they'd lose their major marketing element in the Evangelions themselves, since the things were in the prototype stages when both the series and movies begin.

Well they could focus solely on the Second Impact.

Then they could mention the First Impact, and make a prequel to a prequel. lol I'm kidding.

[Stogi]

Didn't know

Wow...They edited "The King's Speech", i.e. the best picture of 2010, so that it can be re-released under a PG-13 rating. Has this ever happened before? To make matters worse, the funniest part of the movie is when he is egged on to cuss. What the ****!

[oohhboy]

I haven't seen Evangelion 2.22 yet, but I hope they are playing chicken with it veering off at the last second from the cliff that is the End of Evangelion. That ending kills(second impact), cremates, launches into the sun any idea for a sequel. They can't make a prequel because they don't have any pilots before that. The first angel was killed via conventional means. You would have a repeat of what we saw in 1.11 opening expect for the dead angel.

[Caliban]

They can't make a prequel because they don't have any pilots before that.

You don't really need pilots, or EVAs for a prequel.

I'm sticking with the manga to see where it goes. It's done by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, and there's only 12 volumes so far.
The volumes come out at a really slow pace. The 12th volume took 3 years to be done. VIZ publishes them.

[BlackNMild2k1]

127 Hours - 8.5/10

This movie was good and it was based off a true story that I'm sure we all remember. The build up to the moment was good and the actual moment was cringe worthy. I honestly hope that I'm never in a situation like he was, but if it happened, I'd like to think that I could have handled it as well as he did. I thought the whole thing was handled very well.

[ejamer]

L.A. Confidential

9/10

God I love movies like this. The acting is top notch; the characters appropriate and well rounded; the nudity, never overtly sexual, but always classy; and the plot intriguing and plausible.

We need more of these types of films.

Totally agree, LA Confidential was a great movie.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Sucker Punch - 7.5/10

This is an action movie filled with hotchicks that I think covered most if not all sci-fi/fantasy genres. I'm still not sure what all the details are about what happened because this was some inception fantasy sci-fi action ****, but I was into it the whole entire way.

lots of sfx and the action can be a little hard to follow at time, but its mostly because the slow mo, angle changing and craziness that's going on.

[Stogi]

7.5 isn't bad, but not good enough to shell out IMAX 3D monies.

[EasyCure]

Limitless - eh out of 10.

I don't really have much to say about it.. it wasn't bad, it just wasn't that great. I'd like to have some of what he's having though.

[broodwars]

While I've been playing through Infamous (Open World game that barely uses music, so I've been catching up on my podcasts while playing), I watched some movies in the background:

The Truman Show - Much better than I remember it.  Maybe I was just too young to appreciate it before, but the story clicks with me now and it's now quite possibly my favorite Jim Carrey movie (followed by The Mask and Bruce Almighty).  It helps that this is one of those rare "movies with a message" that doesn't beat you over the head with "the message".

Death Becomes Her - Yeah I know...an odd choice for a movie to watch, but it was mentioned on one of the podcasts I listen to and I never had seen the movie.  This is one very strange movie, and sadly it's one that takes too long to get to the truly enjoyable parts (almost an hour in).  When it does, it's a very twisted dark comedy.  The story and its "message" feels like they were ripped from a Twilight Zone episode and stretched out too far, but I suppose it's enjoyable enough.  It has an almost Beetlejuice-esque quality to it I found amusing.  That reminds me...I still need to get that movie on Blu-Ray...

[Stogi]

My favorite Jim Carey movie is "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". Truman show is dope though.

[broodwars]

My favorite Jim Carey movie is "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". Truman show is dope though.

Meh, I never really got into Eternal Sunshine.  Unlike The Truman Show, Eternal Sunshine just feels pretentious, like a movie made for the explicit purpose of being Oscar bait.  Plus, although I think Carrey was excellent in The Truman Show, I don't really like him in dramatic roles (or Bill Murrey, either).  I can understand why people would like the movie, but I just don't enjoy it.

[Stogi]

Well Truman Show is much more mainstream.

[BlackNMild2k1]

7.5 isn't bad, but not good enough to shell out IMAX 3D monies.

This movie might actually be even better in IMAX 3D to be honest. There are a lot of fantasy fighting moments with slow-mo and objects passing the screen and cameras rotating around the scene. 3D could add to the scenes if 3D is your thing.

I've never watched a IMAX movie, but the visuals in this movie were good, so a little EXPLETIVE and some 3D could really add to it.

[Stogi]

Hmm...perhaps your right.

IMAX is the ****, especially in 3D. It's like an old school rollercoaster ride at Universal Studios. Avatar isn't my favorite movie or anything, but during that first few seconds where the movie opens up to a shot flying past a forest, I couldn't help but say "This is the best movie ever" and that was like 10 seconds into the movie.

Try it sometime. Just make sure to pick a winner.

[broodwars]

Currently watching Star Trek: The Motion Picture.  It's adorable that the production team at Paramount thought these effects were convincing (yes, I know the film was rushed and made it to theaters IIRC hours after it was finished), and man they look pretty bad in HD.  I'm pretty unimpressed with this transfer overall.  This looks like a movie from the 70s (and man does it feel like a movie in the 70s, before man discovered pacing.  It's amazing that a film made to ride the coattails of Star Wars apparently learned nothing from it).  Given the film's age, I wouldn't harp on that too much, but when we have seemingly pristine picture quality for the DVDs/Blu-Rays of The Twilight Zone and I Love Lucy (which are over 20 years older), this picture quality from such a repeatedly-milked film is just sad. The live action sequences look fine, if more than a bit blurry in a few shots, but boy do those special effects outer space sequences love their grain and cheesy-looking late-70s video compositing.  Something I'm actually surprised is bothering me right now is Jerry Goldsmith's score.  I love the Next Generation/Motion Picture theme, but I'm 16 minutes into the movie and I've already heard that fanfare something like 3-4 times now.  Please, Jerry...knock it off, I beg of you!  And that VGER electric guitar "TWANG!" makes me smirk every time I hear it in its total cheesiness.

Something I hadn't noticed before but kind of bugs me now: why is the Starfleet insignia turned on its side on the Enterprise nacells?      And what's with that 1 minute and 30 seconds of total black screen with just a musical interlude before even the Paramount logo (this isn't the Sound of Music, so I don't know why we have a pre-show musical interlude)?  I also had to laugh at the fact that the Enterprise in this movie is coming off of an 18 month overhaul considering the argument will be made in Star Trek 3 that the ship is "too old" to be worth repairing.  Well why even bother with that massive overhaul in the first place?

[Morari]

Star Trek: The Motion Picture is really only worth watching if it's the Director's Cut.

Paramount would have been better off going with Phase II instead of converting it over into that film.

[NWR_insanolord]

I really don't understand why the Blu-Ray version of TMP isn't the Director's Cut. I wish Wrath of Khan and Undiscovered Country were the DVD cuts too, but with TMP it's inexcusable.

[Morari]

The director's cut aren't nearly as dramatic or necessary with Wrath of Khan or Undiscovered Country. In fact, about the only change I recall from Wrath of Khan was a little more extrapolation with Scottie's nephew. Still, I don't see any reason why the director's cuts shouldn't become the standard, especially with TMP.