PCF at the Movies (4 Viewers)

[jbutler]

Just looked over my running list of best movies of the year and right now I have 9 that I can't imagine displacing out of the top 10 and still to come in the year I have 14 movies I'm very much looking forward to:

Room
Suffragette
Creed
Spectre
Spotlight
The Hateful 8
The Force Awakens
The Revenant
By the Sea
Carol
Macbeth
The Big Short
Joy
Steve Jobs

And then another 5 that I think could be dark horse (dark horse to me, I guess, but I'm sure there are some who are already championing a couple of these) greats:

Krampus
I Saw the Light
The Lobster
45 Years
Experimenter

Really shaping up to be a phenomenal winter for movies.

EDIT: And I didn't even think about those that have already been released, but which I haven't yet seen:

Beasts of No Nation
White God
Clouds of Sils Maria
Goodnight Mommy
Manglehorn
Creep
The Wolfpack

That's a lot of movies I still need to see not counting things that are not yet on my radar. I think I actually might not get to everything before the year is out.

 

[Socraticd]

I cannot wait to go see Crimson Peak... I, like you, will see anything he releases. Period.

 

[jbutler]

I cannot wait to go see Crimson Peak... I, like you, will see anything he releases. Period.

Thinking about it, I think it's my favorite of Del Toro's films to this point. Pan's Labyrinth had that spot previously, but I loved Crimson Peak.

 

[detroitdad]

M Night Shamalamadingdong actually made a good movie for once! Highly recommend you guys see The Visit.

We were looking for something to watch last night so I turned this on. We both liked it. As usual, the wife figured it out pretty quickly.

I agree with butler. Did not need to see the boy rapping at the end of the flick.

 

[Socraticd]

About to watch Mississippi Grind. Pumped for this one

 

[jbutler]

Was looking forward to Steve Jobs this weekend. I wasn't letting my expectations get too out of hand since I can't stand Aaron Sorkin's television writing, but he has written some film scripts that I've loved (A Few Good Men, The Social Network, Moneyball), so I was optimistic.

Too optimistic, I guess. It wasn't bad by any means, but it wasn't great either. All the performances were good and a few were great. And the structure of the script was interesting. It's been talked about by everyone, but in case you don't know, it's set up as three acts, each around a different product launch (Macintosh in 1984; NeXT in 1988; iMac in 1998). Like I said, interesting, but it's immediately obvious how limited the film would be in its narrative by requiring all action to occur during literally the hours before a product launch. It causes so much of the film to feel contrived and forced.

Since that's the problem I've had with Sorkin's television writing, it's not surprising that this didn't work for me. Danny Boyle is a fantastic director, but when you have a script that is so regimented and completely and totally dialogue-focused, it's very, very difficult to break out and do anything interesting as a filmmaker. He was able to make his mark in subtle ways - different film stock and time-appropriate scores for different eras - but literally the entire movie is made up of walk-and-talk shots. It's very claustrophobic and not purposefully so. I was a bit exhausted after sitting through it.

It sounds like I hated the movie, but I really didn't. The performances were good and the material and characters are so interesting that there's plenty of reason to want to see it. But it is by no means as good as what I expect from Danny Boyle.

 

[manamongkids]

I prefer Dantes Peak

 

[detroitdad]

On our way to see Spectre. Reviews aren't great. We're huge bond fans. Screw it. Plus they have rocking recliners

 

[jbutler]

On our way to see Spectre. Reviews aren't great. We're huge bond fans. Screw it. Plus they have rocking recliners

Chose Suffragette over Spectre last night, but will still be seeing Spectre at some point this weekend. Not a huge Bond fan, but Skyfall was very, very good, so I'm looking forward to this one.

 

[detroitdad]

I love the bond movies. I have thought the Craig/Bond flicks are some of the best of them. I like this one. It was my least favorite of the Daniel Craig movies. I had heard the opening sequence was fantastic. I disagree. I think it was really good. Just not fantastic. My favorite opening sequence to date is still Casino Royale. If it wasn't for that ridiculous poker scene at the end then it would have been a great fucking movie.

The scenes with Bautista/Craig are probably the best. Bautista's character seemed to be a real threat to defeating Bond.

 

[B.C.]

Should be watched in Full Screen:

 

[Puggy]

Long thread, so don't know if this has been mentioned here. I just re-watched Oblivion. I saw it in the movies back in 2013 and not it felt even better.
I loved the atmosphere of this post-apocalyptic movie. And the music. Have to order the DVD to my own bookshelf now. And third-watch it rigth after.
I love scifi and this is one of my sure favorites.

Here's the trailer:

And an example of the suondtrack:

Five point our of five IMO.

 

[stocky]

Long thread, so don't know if this has been mentioned here. I just re-watched Oblivion. I saw it in the movies back in 2013 and not it felt even better.
I loved the atmosphere of this post-apocalyptic movie. And the music. Have to order the DVD to my own bookshelf now. And third-watch it rigth after.
I love scifi and this is one of my sure favorites.

Here's the trailer:

And an example of the suondtrack:

Five point our of five IMO.

I didn't mind it. I struggle to watch any Tom Cruise movie though so that probably played a part for me not loving it.

If you love Sci-Fi have you seen Interstellar? I really enjoyed that movie.

 

[Puggy]

I didn't mind it. I struggle to watch any Tom Cruise movie though so that probably played a part for me not loving it.

If you love Sci-Fi have you seen Interstellar? I really enjoyed that movie.

Yepp. Saw it and liked it a lot.

 

[Toby]

We really didn't dig Oblivion at all. Found it hackneyed, overlong and dull! : (

It's probably having kids, making me intolerant and hate everything.

 

[Toby]

I should probably qualify the previous statement by adding that I've read any awful lot of SF, so most releases feel hackneyed!

I enjoyed the one where you get to see TC die over and over and over again though.

 

[Puggy]

I should probably qualify the previous statement by adding that I've read any awful lot of SF, so most releases feel hackneyed!

I enjoyed the one where you get to see TC die over and over and over again though.

Yepp. Egde of tomorrow. Liked that one also.

 

[Toby]

Yepp. Egde of tomorrow. Liked that one also.

That's the one. My recall is bad these days!

 

[jbutler]

We really didn't dig Oblivion at all. Found it hackneyed, overlong and dull! : (

It's probably having kids, making me intolerant and hate everything.

I tend to agree with this on Oblivion and like you and @Puggy I loved Edge of Tomorrow. Honestly, Tom Cruise has been in a few of the better sci-fi films of the past 15 years: Vanilla Sky (I know some hate it or prefer the original, but I like it a lot), Minority Report, War of the Worlds, Edge of Tomorrow. I had reasonable hopes for Oblivion because the director had previously directed the Tron sequel which I liked.

This weekend I saw Suffragette and Spectre.

Suffragette was just okay. It got off to a slow start and for the most part stuck to the tropes of a historical issue-drive drama. Fortunately it picked up in the second act and took a bit more interest in the characters rather than the history.

Meryl Streep was it in for all of 5 minutes, so the marketing could be said to be misleading on that point. But both Helena Bonham Carter and Carey Mulligan are good given what they have to work with and despite some reviews taking issue with it, I thought the end was perhaps the best part of the movie which is rarer and rarer these days. I expected better given the cast, but I can't say it was bad.

Spectre was great. I will have to disagree with @detroitdad with regard to the opening sequence. It was the best of the Bond openings during the Craig years imo. That single tracking shot from the street up the elevator into the hotel room out the window and across the buildings was stunning. And then the title sequence was fantastic. And we were only 15 minutes into the movie.

I've seen complaints that the plot was predictable. Well, yeah, it's a Bond film and it was plenty nuanced for that. It's not supposed to be the Usual Suspects. The action scenes were directed masterfully and I found myself a bit bummed that Craig and Mendes won't be able to team up again for another one. Not surprisingly, Christoph Waltz is the perfect villain. I could have done with a lot more Monica Bellucci, but I always can.

It's not up to the standard of near perfection that Skyfall achieved, but I really liked it.

 

[detroitdad]

I will have to disagree with @detroitdad with regard to the opening sequence. It was the best of the Bond openings during the Craig years imo

I liked it. I didn't think it was great. I preferred Casino Royale and Skyfall over Spectre (we re watched Casino Royale last night). Other than the ridiculous card game at the end it was damn near perfect. The opening chase scene in CR is easily my favorite. I really enjoyed the two different styles of the villain, and of bond in an attempt to catch the villain. Villain was all agility and parkour while bond was brains and brute force.

Waltz and Bautista were awesome as villains. I really wanted another show down with those two.

 

[detroitdad]

I tend to agree with this on Oblivion and like you and @Puggy I loved Edge of Tomorrow. Honestly, Tom Cruise has been in a few of the better sci-fi films of the past 15 years: Vanilla Sky (I know some hate it or prefer the original, but I like it a lot), Minority Report, War of the Worlds, Edge of Tomorrow. I had reasonable hopes for Oblivion because the director had previously directed the Tron sequel which I liked.

completely agree. Oblivion was "meh" at best. Edge of Tomorrow, VS, Minority Report were really damn good. I liked War of the Worlds. It would have been better if his son had died.

 

[Thisfiendis138]

Long thread, so don't know if this has been mentioned here. I just re-watched Oblivion. I saw it in the movies back in 2013 and not it felt even better.
I loved the atmosphere of this post-apocalyptic movie. And the music. Have to order the DVD to my own bookshelf now. And third-watch it rigth after.
I love scifi and this is one of my sure favorites.

Here's the trailer:

And an example of the suondtrack:

Five point our of five IMO.

Really enjoyed this movie!
I own the soundtrack! It has a Hans Zimmer feel without being a copy! glad to see someone comment on the soundtrack
I'm thinking about posting an interest thread about my soundtrack collection and offering copies via CD or Flash Drives at cost of shipping and CD(s)/ Flash Drives

 

[Phantom]

Saw Spectre last night. Hmmm... as a Bond fan I can see what they were trying to do, but they continue to dance around the wonderful opportunities to really get this franchise going again. Craig is established as Bond, yet they just seem to wallow in this whole 'Bond's past/Bond goes rogue /MI6 under siege thing', which is getting tiresome. So as not to 'spoil' your viewing pleasure, I have undertaken a review at another 'off-topic' thread.

 

[jbutler]

Saw Spectre last night. Hmmm... as a Bond fan I can see what they were trying to do, but they continue to dance around the wonderful opportunities to really get this franchise going again. Craig is established as Bond, yet they just seem to wallow in this whole 'Bond's past/Bond goes rogue /MI6 under siege thing', which is getting tiresome. So as not to 'spoil' your viewing pleasure, I have undertaken a review at another 'off-topic' thread.

Just skimmed your thread and have some thoughts in response, but no time to digest your whole thing and articulate mine. Hopefully soon! Bond on...

 

[Phantom]

Just skimmed your thread and have some thoughts in response, but no time to digest your whole thing and articulate mine. Hopefully soon! Bond on...

I couldn't cover everything of course, just the pertinent issues that came to mind. Would welcome your views as well mate . Bond will return in ....

 

[jbutler]

No time to write out anything longer than this, but I realized I had neglected to say that I rewatched Sicario a couple of weeks ago and have been absolutely frothing at the mouth with how much more I liked it on a rewatch.

I think my head was in the wrong place or maybe my expectations caused me to look for something that wasn't there my first time around, but I'm glad to have been wrong because it jumped up the list of my top movies of the year on the second watch. Highly recommended.

 

[Anthony Martino]

Finally got around to watching Man of Steel. Anyone else get a very Battlestar Galactica vibe from it? The visuals, camera cuts and even the music really reminded me of the BG reboot. Of course, there were also some BG actors in the movie as well.

 

[detroitdad]

Finally got around to watching Man of Steel. Anyone else get a very Battlestar Galactica vibe from it? The visuals, camera cuts and even the music really reminded me of the BG reboot. Of course, there were also some BG actors in the movie as well.

It was ok. Kind of boring honestly. The fight scenes were repetitive and entirely too long.

 

[jbutler]

Good news - looks like there's going to be a Trainspotting sequel with the original cast that picks up on their lives 20 years after the first film.

It's going to be based on Irvine Welsh's novel, Porno, which I suppose I might be glad I've been too lazy to read until this point since frankly I'd rather watch the movie.

 

[jbutler]

Saw Spotlight last night and it was very, very good. Not sure if great, but it definitely exceeded any expectations I had. Slight spoilers below, but if you followed the news of the molestation scandal at all, it's nothing that you don't know.

I expected it to be interesting and well-acted and it was, but I didn't expect it to be so emotionally affecting and suspenseful. I'm not sure how universal the suspense will be. There are no guns, no blood, no imminent danger. But if you've ever spent time in a job that involves following a paper trail then I can't imagine not being drawn into the chase for documents supporting what everyone suspects: that the Church has known about and suppressed evidence of child molestation by clergy. And further that the Church has enabled continued molestation by placing clergy known to have offended in communities who could not know of the danger they pose.

Everyone will call the group of actors the best ensemble performance in years and I don't think I could disagree. The one criticism I could see is that Mark Ruffalo and Michael Keaton to a lesser extent take on the traits of their real life counterparts in a way that almost seems almost hokey. But the effect quickly wears off as you see them embody the emotional lives of their characters completely convincingly. By the end I was thinking that Mark Ruffalo's performance was as good as his in Foxcatcher which was absolutely great.

As I said above, it's also incredibly emotionally affecting. I love procedurals and I was watching an absolutely pitch perfect procedural on journalistic practices and enjoying in completely. But when they finally hit upon the trove of documents they needed to push the story to the next level, it was exhilarating in a way I wouldn't have expected considering the superficially benign action depicted on screen. And when they finally pull it all together and bring it down on the Church's head, I was drained.

I don't usually get pulled into "issue" dramas, but what allows the movie to move beyond that categorization is that it does nothing false to dramatize what occurred. It simply shows journalists doing their job, step by step, growing ever closer to the story they believe to be there. No one is made to be a hero. In fact, the ways in which the characters are not heroes is part of what has kept the movie in my head since I left the theater.