Passengers - the Jennifer Lawrence/Chris Pratt sci-fi flick. Great potential ruined by a rushed and ill thought out final 20 mins. With a bit more craft and thought, it could have been a cracking film. Not sure why Laurence Fishburn took his role though - very brief and didn't do his acting any justice.
101 Dalmations, a great Xmas movie. Lots of snow and screaching Cruella de Vil tyres. The animated version, so great vistas of the Suffolk countryside.
I find the whole Twilight bark thing quite moving but it might have been that Christmas vibe. Redolent of lighting pyres to let inlanders know of an enemy invasion.
Finally got to see this with my brother today and we both enjoyed it. Good story, interesting characters, great action, beautiful visuals and...
the return of Peter Cushing!!! And I always thought only Christopher Lee could keep coming back from the dead. Some people consider reviving a deceased actor thru CG controversial, I thought it was a great homage.
We loved how the movie led neatly into Episode IV and thought the story told was vastly superior, far more original and nuanced than what we got in The Force Awakens.
Couple of new ones on opposite ends of the emotional spectrum:
La La Land. A wonderful throwback-style musical in a contemporary setting. Seems very daring to even make a film like this these days. Same director as Whiplash, so he obviously likes music, particularly jazz. Shot in bright colors, almost like an animated film. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are superb as the lead characters. Interesting viewing experience: I saw it on December 26, and at one point a character mockingly refers to another as "George Michael". Coming just a couple of days after his passing, the entire audience let out a sad sigh. It really did feel like a gut punch.
Manchester by the Sea. Wow, a really brutal emotional ride. Casey Affleck is fantastic as a sad-sack New Englander who is haunted by unbelievable tragedy and suddenly is given guardianship of his teenaged nephew. No easy answers, no silly plot twists, just the raw wounds of tragedy that will probably never heal. Affleck will certainly be nominated for an Oscar, and I have to say his is the best performance I've seen this year.
The story of a boy/man growing up in the drug-riddled Liberty City section of Miami. He is black (as everyone in his environment is) and gay (as very few in his environment are, or at least willing to admit to being). His mother is a crack addict. His father is absent -- his only real male mentor is a drug dealer who befriends him. The story is told in three chapters -- when he is roughly 12, roughly 18 and roughly 28.
The entire film is beautifully constructed and shot, and the acting is superb -- most players are relative unknowns, but Mahershala Ali and especially Naomie Harris (whom we all know here) are phenomenal in supporting roles.
There is a lot of Oscar buzz around this movie, and just last night it won the Golden Globe for Best Drama. While some of that may be due to "Hollywood guilt" over last year's Oscar "whitewash", this is a very, very good movie -- a gorgeous piece of storytelling that I'm extremely glad I saw.
Passengers - the Jennifer Lawrence/Chris Pratt sci-fi flick. Great potential ruined by a rushed and ill thought out final 20 mins. With a bit more craft and thought, it could have been a cracking film. Not sure why Laurence Fishburn took his role though - very brief and didn't do his acting any justice.
Not to mention why Andy Garcia was in it for just a few seconds! :P
I got to watch this movie yesterday. Really enjoyed it! Thought the story was very refreshing and the set up was pretty unique. It's pretty tough to keep the audience entertained with a cast of pretty much 4 people all taking place on one spaceship the entire movie, but they did it well! Great cinematography and production design and was really suprised to see Thomas Newman did the score of this film! (I personally really liked what he did with it.)
Also, I partly agree with the ending and me and my girlfriend were having a conversation afterwarts on how they could have ended it differently. Still though, an highly enjoyable watch and especially recommended for a cinema viewing!
I thought Rogue One was FAR better than Episode 7, which was just lazy storytelling and a rehash of Episode 4...I felt let down by Episode 7 (not as much as Episodes 1,2 & 3 obviously ) but not by Rogue One -{
I thought Rogue One was FAR better than Episode 7, which was just lazy storytelling and a rehash of Episode 4...I felt let down by Episode 7 (not as much as Episodes 1,2 & 3 obviously ) but not by Rogue One -{
Oh no, I beg to differ!
EP 7 is a film I'll watch again and again. Rogue One... maybe once more.
I enjoy them both, whilst conceding that 7 is kind of an unabashed rehash of 4's overall themes...but 7 redeems itself with Harrison Ford's nostalgic turn as Han Solo. Rogue One is just a great sci-fi commando flick that happens to tie directly in to the saga...it's a bit like a modern space-opera Dirty Dozen B-) A great deal of fun. I can't wait to get it on Blu-Ray.
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Force Awakens was enjoyable but Rogue One was more up my street. The dialogue and relationship between Rey and Finn made me cringe.
Why did Kylo Ren take off his mask also? Ruined a good villain - some wet wimpy drip kid
Totally agree! Force Awakens was like Spectre in some ways in that it was just a lackluster retread of what's been done before, in this case a carbon copy of A New Hope. I loved Rogue One, it was dark and complex and most importantly more original.
Force Awakens was enjoyable but Rogue One was more up my street. The dialogue and relationship between Rey and Finn made me cringe.
Why did Kylo Ren take off his mask also? Ruined a good villain - some wet wimpy drip kid
Totally agree! Force Awakens was like Spectre in some ways in that it was just a lackluster retread of what's been done before, in this case a carbon copy of A New Hope. I loved Rogue One, it was dark and complex and most importantly more original.
Well, I think Kylo Ren fancies himself as Vader's rightful descendant, and is trying hard to be the evil Sith Lord, but granted, he comes off as a bit of a low-rent villain here. It's an interesting opportunity, if they do it right: he can have an actual character arc over the next two pictures, and the possibilities are intriguing as Luke comes back into play.
Completely agree about Rogue One's strength as a unique and standalone story {[]
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Am I wrong to like both films? Yes, Force Awakens was a nostalgic anthology film--but it was a damned good one. Rogue One is an excellent stand-alone film about sacrifice that manages to tie together and strengthen the first two trilogies, and it also complicates and explains a few flaws in the original Star Wars (I've never been able to call it "A New Hope"). Two different films with two different sets of strengths. I'm happy.
Vox clamantis in deserto
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Am I wrong to like both films? Yes, Force Awakens was a nostalgic anthology film--but it was a damned good one. Rogue One is an excellent stand-alone film about sacrifice that manages to tie together and strengthen the first two trilogies, and it also complicates and explains a few flaws in the original Star Wars (I've never been able to call it "A New Hope"). Two different films with two different sets of strengths. I'm happy.
Agree with everything you've said there Hardyboy. So far, I've had only one viewing of each of the new Star Wars films and both were most enjoyable and I couldn't say whether I preferred one or the other more. Once I've rewatched them a couple of times at home, I might be able to pick out a favourite.
By the way, I also dislike referring to Star Wars as 'A New Hope.' Aside from the fact that it was originally released just as Star Wars, A New Hope just doesn't have the feel of a classic title to me, unlike The Empire Strikes Back etc.
The Magnificent Seven (2016). The original 1960 version is my favourite film of all time and I was dreading the remake (yes, I know the 1960 version was a remake itself), especially after seeing the trailer which was awful. But after watching this yesterday it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Washington, Pratt, Hawke and D'Onofrio are all very good even if they cannot match up to Brynner, McQueen, Coburn, Bronson and Vaughn. Peter Sarsgaard makes a despicable villain. Where it falls short is that the gathering of the seven is nowhere near as good as the original. The final shootout is stunningly good and we do get to hear the original classic theme over the closing credits. There are a few lines from the original inserted into the script which are fun to spot. Worth a look.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
ice station zebra ,starring Rock Hudson ,and some may say the best James Bond we never had Patrick Macgoohan ,I have mentioned this before (many years back) that during the film PM aka Mr Jones is abruptly woken from his sleep by a U.S. naval officer .Mr Jones shoves his PPK in his face as a auto reaction . The ships capt Rock Hudson later on says to Mr Jones "do you always sleep with a gun "" 8-) 8-)
I saw "The Searchers" again last night. I'm not sure I this is the greatest western ever made or if it's "Once upon a time in the west", but I think it has to be one of the two.
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,851MI6 Agent
I've never seen Star Wars. Just wanted to share that with you all!
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Comments
An average thriller, with all the usual clichés. Infact, I was a little disappointed with it.
I find the whole Twilight bark thing quite moving but it might have been that Christmas vibe. Redolent of lighting pyres to let inlanders know of an enemy invasion.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Finally got to see this with my brother today and we both enjoyed it. Good story, interesting characters, great action, beautiful visuals and...
We loved how the movie led neatly into Episode IV and thought the story told was vastly superior, far more original and nuanced than what we got in The Force Awakens.
La La Land. A wonderful throwback-style musical in a contemporary setting. Seems very daring to even make a film like this these days. Same director as Whiplash, so he obviously likes music, particularly jazz. Shot in bright colors, almost like an animated film. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are superb as the lead characters. Interesting viewing experience: I saw it on December 26, and at one point a character mockingly refers to another as "George Michael". Coming just a couple of days after his passing, the entire audience let out a sad sigh. It really did feel like a gut punch.
Manchester by the Sea. Wow, a really brutal emotional ride. Casey Affleck is fantastic as a sad-sack New Englander who is haunted by unbelievable tragedy and suddenly is given guardianship of his teenaged nephew. No easy answers, no silly plot twists, just the raw wounds of tragedy that will probably never heal. Affleck will certainly be nominated for an Oscar, and I have to say his is the best performance I've seen this year.
I haven't bought it yet. Was it as least as good as the first three?
The story of a boy/man growing up in the drug-riddled Liberty City section of Miami. He is black (as everyone in his environment is) and gay (as very few in his environment are, or at least willing to admit to being). His mother is a crack addict. His father is absent -- his only real male mentor is a drug dealer who befriends him. The story is told in three chapters -- when he is roughly 12, roughly 18 and roughly 28.
The entire film is beautifully constructed and shot, and the acting is superb -- most players are relative unknowns, but Mahershala Ali and especially Naomie Harris (whom we all know here) are phenomenal in supporting roles.
There is a lot of Oscar buzz around this movie, and just last night it won the Golden Globe for Best Drama. While some of that may be due to "Hollywood guilt" over last year's Oscar "whitewash", this is a very, very good movie -- a gorgeous piece of storytelling that I'm extremely glad I saw.
Not to mention why Andy Garcia was in it for just a few seconds! :P
I got to watch this movie yesterday. Really enjoyed it! Thought the story was very refreshing and the set up was pretty unique. It's pretty tough to keep the audience entertained with a cast of pretty much 4 people all taking place on one spaceship the entire movie, but they did it well! Great cinematography and production design and was really suprised to see Thomas Newman did the score of this film! (I personally really liked what he did with it.)
Also, I partly agree with the ending and me and my girlfriend were having a conversation afterwarts on how they could have ended it differently. Still though, an highly enjoyable watch and especially recommended for a cinema viewing!
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"Do you expect me to talk? "No Mister Bond I expect you to die"
Not a patch on Episode 7, but not bad. A bit creepy seeing
I thought Rogue One was FAR better than Episode 7, which was just lazy storytelling and a rehash of Episode 4...I felt let down by Episode 7 (not as much as Episodes 1,2 & 3 obviously
This is how I feel.
EP 7 is a film I'll watch again and again. Rogue One... maybe once more.
Why did Kylo Ren take off his mask also? Ruined a good villain - some wet wimpy drip kid
I enjoy them both, whilst conceding that 7 is kind of an unabashed rehash of 4's overall themes...but 7 redeems itself with Harrison Ford's nostalgic turn as Han Solo. Rogue One is just a great sci-fi commando flick that happens to tie directly in to the saga...it's a bit like a modern space-opera Dirty Dozen B-) A great deal of fun. I can't wait to get it on Blu-Ray.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Well, I think Kylo Ren fancies himself as Vader's rightful descendant, and is trying hard to be the evil Sith Lord, but granted, he comes off as a bit of a low-rent villain here. It's an interesting opportunity, if they do it right: he can have an actual character arc over the next two pictures, and the possibilities are intriguing as Luke comes back into play.
Completely agree about Rogue One's strength as a unique and standalone story {[]
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Nope -{
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Agree with everything you've said there Hardyboy. So far, I've had only one viewing of each of the new Star Wars films and both were most enjoyable and I couldn't say whether I preferred one or the other more. Once I've rewatched them a couple of times at home, I might be able to pick out a favourite.
By the way, I also dislike referring to Star Wars as 'A New Hope.' Aside from the fact that it was originally released just as Star Wars, A New Hope just doesn't have the feel of a classic title to me, unlike The Empire Strikes Back etc.
When you have time you must tell us about your trip to Mars