Last Good Movie You Saw

[toxicitizen]

Rise/Dawn/War for the Planet of the Apes.

 

A friend and I caught a marathon of the old movies on TV years ago and really enjoyed them, so we figured it was about time we watched the new ones. We watched the first two last week and went to see the new one tonight. The old ones were fun in a cheesy way but these new ones are shockingly good. Way better than I would've expected them to be.

 

Still not entirely clear on whether they're supposed to be a reboot or an actual prequel, though. They seem to go out of their way to make things fit nicely and explain everything but they feel a lot more grounded with the apes mostly using sign language and not wearing clothes (because why the fuck would they lol). I guess the next one might settle that once and for all given where this one ends. Although I really hope they're not building up to a remake of the original. The perfect way to end this series would be for the very last scene to be the astronauts coming back to earth. Don't need to show anything beyond that.

[TCP]

Get Out

All I'll say is...... fucking white people. Seriously though, it's really good, go in knowing as little as possible. 

[TheMightyEthan]

@FLD They're a reboot.  The old-timey prequels depict a way different origin for the ape rebellion.

[toxicitizen]

Yeah, I just thought that it might be building up to the first one while ignoring everything else. The old movies got kinda stupid starting with the second one. Ignoring everything but the original would probably be the best way to go about doing a non-reboot prequel series. But after some googling, everything I'm finding calls it a reboot so... yeah.

[TheMightyEthan]

Oh yeah, if you ignore everything but the first of the 70's movies then these could easily be prequels.  So it's at least a partial reboot, but possibly not a full one.

[deanb]

They're a bit of both, it's something the directors have spoken of in that in theory this run of films can run into the scenarios seen with the original film(s), though yes falls apart a bit with later PotA films. The first of the new run has a background mention of an astronaut being sent off into space. Obviously the most recent one covers the "humans not speaking", and also to a degree I believe one of the later films with the nukes. Though whether it's the humans or the apes who "blew it all up" is up to you decide (obviously it's heavily implied it's the humans, though in this run we know the humans never even really had a chance to use nukes so it's possible apes fuck up and manage to).

 

It is a surprisingly solid trilogy. Some people seem to have grievance with James Franco but I thought he was good, the alzhiemers plot was touching with John Lithgow doing quite well there. When War hits disc I'll certainly be picking up the trilogy on BD. 

[toxicitizen]

See that's the one thing that doesn't quite fit in this new series, imho. It's been a while but IIRC the old one sort of implied that it was the far future while these new ones are explaining how it's actually all happening within a span of ~15-20 years. At this point I'm not sure how they could explain the statue of liberty on the beach thing easily because it feels like we're past the point where a nuclear war would've happened.

 

Then again, my friend felt the same way about the feral state of the humans in the original and the new one explains it pretty easily so you never know. If anything, this series has been surprisingly good so far at taking shortcuts and expediting the entire process without feeling forced or stupid.

[deanb]

There's nothing that'd stop the apes using nukes. The nukes already exist so they wouldn't need to learn how to build them, just to launch them and that's relatively simple to carry out. Plenty time between the near future death of humanity and the far flung future of ape rule to have a little ape world war or similar carry out.

[toxicitizen]

It's not far flung, though. As of the end of War, we're like maybe another ~15 years away from the original movie tops. I feel like given the state the apes are currently in, figuring out computer systems and launching nukes is a bit beyond them. They're still all about chilling in trees and smashing things with rocks. My guess would be they'll encounter yet more humans in the next movie and that's likely how it'll go down.

[deanb]

When you say "original movie" are you talking the Charleton Heston one or the "original" in this trilogy with James Franco. Cos I think the Heston one is meant to be like a thousand years from now which provides plenty of times for apes to learn the systems and for nukes to not deteriorate too much to still make a fair bang if used.

We know from Bad Ape that other apes have "evolved" due to the virus spread around the world, so assumedly there's plenty of other ape civilisations popping up and down the line it's not unreasonable (especially as there has been tension even within Caesars group) that apes would clash in some way.

 

I do however think that War is the last of this run of Ape films. It makes a nice tidy trilogy.

[toxicitizen]

By original I mean the 1968 Heston one, yeah. I agree that that one implied it was thousands of years in the future but that's what I was talking about in an earlier post. This new series is making it all happen on a much shorter timeline, which is why I was initially confused as to whether it was reboot or prequel. If it was on a longer timeline then you're absolutely right, there's plenty of time for them to evolve further and figure out nukes. But, like I said, it looks like we're no more than 15 years away from Charlton Heston showing up. Reason I believe this is that at the end of War we have

 

Cornelius and the little girl Nova as kids, both of which are young adults in the original.

 

To me that puts the astronauts' return no more than ~15 years away or so. That means Maurice is likely meant to be Dr. Zaius (I mean, his name is clearly a reference to the actor Maurice Evans) and this is where things start to not quite align with the 1968 movie. The apes here still seem way too "primitive" or ape-like to start wearing clothes and being all civilized in that short of a time span. They seem to be going for a more grounded vibe, so I can see it never getting to the whole "Apes wearing clothes" thing. 

 

And yeah, War seems like a good end point but they've already said they started planning the next one.

[CorgiShinobi]

Logan Lucky

 

It's classified as a comedy, but I would say don't go in expecting some laugh out loud riot. Sure, you think some West Virginian rednecks robbing the Charlotte Motor Speedway must be chalked full of dumb stunts.

 

This film though is way smarter than you'd expect. Channing Tatum's character Jimmy Logan is a smart cookie and the bank heist is a legitimate plan. Everyone does a good job acting and performing in their roles. Unlike other heist films where the whole plan is revealed, you don't know how they're going to pull off this robbery. That's what keeps you pulled into the film because the pieces keep coming together until the plan is actually in motion.

 

And even then, well, let me say there are actual layers to this plan. I don't want to spoil anything because frankly the movie's focus is on the characters and what they bring to the plan. The premise is basically that Jimmy Logan gets laid off from his construction job because of his pre-existing condition. He has a little daughter and his ex-wife is living it up with her new hubby who does very well selling Fords. Jimmy wants things to go his way for once and everyone tends to think that's impossible because there's a Logan Family Curse. His brother, Clyde Logan (played by Adam Driver, a.k.a. Kylo Ren) hasn't had much luck either and while he believes in the curse, he still is loyal to his brother.

 

Daniel Craig plays this character Joe Bang and he's a hoot. He's a veteran bank robber and he's basically the linchpin to the plan. He brings some science in and it's hilarious. There are some other characters, but I don't think you ever hear their names proper. Like one guys we find out his name in his final scene. Also, you're probably going to be getting most of your laughs from Joe Bang and the supporting cast rather anyone else.

 

If you want to see a movie this weekend, definitely check this one out.

[TheMightyEthan]

@FLD I haven't seen War yet so no spoilers, but it being ~15 years in the future would also cause problems with all the apes being completely shocked that a human could talk.  I mean, if it's that soon then the older apes would remember when all humans could talk, even if none have been able to do so for the last few years.

[deanb]

@Atomsk88 It's not out in UK until next week, but I'll be aiming to go see it with my siblings.

 

@TheMightyEthan @FLD The director has spoken of the names in the sense that there's a mythological element to them in the same way you have people called "joseph" and "isaac". This series still sees the "Planet of the Apes" as being an event generations and generations down the line.

[toxicitizen]

Really? Then that makes the inclusion of

Nova

in War seem kinda pointless. Like, why even bother making that reference if it's not intended to be the same character?

[Mr. GOH!]

Because it's a standalone reboot series that remixes concepts from the 'original' series. Ignore whatever nonsense the people involved have said in interviews. There's no way the Heston movie could happen within the lifetime of any of the reboot characters. And all of the apes are very very good at speaking, implying many generations have gone because none of the apes in the reboot series speak like Cornelius or Dr. Zaius in the 'original'. 

 

Also, I saw Ingrid Goes West and Logan Lucky this weekend and greatly enjoyed both.

[deanb]

None of the people involved have said that the Heston stuff is within the lifetime of these characters, they've said much as you said that they're generations out. We're only seeing the first (and second) generation here of the apes n humans. FLD is the only one who seems under the impression the films are lining up to bring in Heston-verse within 10 years of War.

[toxicitizen]

Keep in mind that I only watched all three movies for the first time in the last couple weeks, so I never followed any kind of marketing or saw any interviews with anyone involved. I only had the actual content of the movies and the presence of certain characters (or names) to base my assumptions on!  And, based on just those, I still think there's room for a more "grounded" (i.e. sign language and no clothes) version of the original story to happen within the lifetime of these characters but that's obviously irrelevant if the people behind the films have said that's not what they're doing.

[Hot Heart]

House of Flying Daggers

One of my favourite films but only just "upgraded" to blu-ray. On that subject, first, it's not brilliant. For most of the running time it's a step-up but the overall quality leaves a lot to be desired and there are far too many shots that look almost "direct DVD transfer". Definitely not as good-looking as the blu-ray version of the other Zhang martial arts film, Hero.

 

As for the film itself, it's still superb. The beginning feels a little laboured but it actually all pays off later when everything comes together in the most twisty and tragic of ways. It's got lots of great action scenes (even if the bamboo bit gets slightly absurd, relatively-speaking) and some really strong central performances with the usual mix of beautiful costume and scenery.

[TheMightyEthan]

Kubo and the Two Strings

 

I don't have a lot to say, other than that this movie was great. It's a really cool, stop motion epic. Also the credits music is a shamisen cover of While My Guitar Gently Weeps, so Best Movie Ever.

[Mister Jack]

It

 

Having read the book and also seen the original tv movies, this remake might actually be the strongest version of the story.  Full disclosure: I don't get scared by scary movies, so I really can't judge it by that criteria.  Is it scary?  I mean, it's just a movie.  All horror films are just movies. If that's what you're wondering, I'm not the guy to ask.  However, I think it was really good with atmosphere, characterization, and especially the acting.  I don't think any of these child actors are already famous (I could be wrong), but I see big things in their future because they hit it out of the park with their performances.  Bill Skarsgard also does a commendable job as Pennywise.  You can tell he's doing his best to distinguish himself from Tim Curry and for the most part I think it works.  He gives off this creepy child predator vibe that Curry's performance, as much as I love him, didn't really have.  I do have a few niggling criticisms.  Several of the "scare" scenes play out independently of each other and are just kind of spliced together, so it feels at times like a series of unrelated vignettes than a cohesive whole.  The book was kind of like this too at parts, so it's probably unavoidable without making a complete departure from the book's plot. There's also some conspicuous CG here and there.  I don't think it ever looks that bad, but some effects are clearly better than others.  A few parts that were probably meant to be scary also made me laugh instead but hey, at least I'm being entertained.  Like I said, scary movies don't scare me so as long as I'm enjoying myself that's good enough for me.

 

The easiest way for me to recommend this is to ask the following: Did you like Stranger Things?  If you did, you'll probably enjoy this remake.

Edited September 13, 2017 by Mister Jack

[toxicitizen]

Been in a movie watching mood lately and most of them were pretty great. Don't really feel like doing detailed reviews for each so I'm just gonna list them off with brief thoughts.

 

Kingsman: I heard it was good but I was not prepared for just how awesome it would be. This is my kind of movie. Gonna have to try and go see the sequel soon.

 

John Wick Chapter 2: I loved it even more than the first one. I love insane fight choreography so this might actually be my favorite action movie in a really long time.

 

Baby Driver: I loved every single Edgar Wright film I've seen and this one was no different. The way all the action syncs up with the soundtrack is actually pretty impressive and must've been a bitch to film and edit. Car chase movies aren't usually my thing and the love story felt fake as hell but I still really enjoyed it. Never would've guessed Jon Hamm had it in him to be this much of a badass.

 

Alien Covenant: I liked Prometheus so I was looking forward to this one. It starts out as a Prometheus sequel and slowly morphs into an Alien prequel. I liked it but I kinda wish it had stuck to its gun and not went "We gotta have the Xenomorph because people know the Xenomorph".

 

The Witch: It's really, really good but after having a friend rave for months about how it was his favorite horror movie ever, I expected something a little different. This was one of those "I really liked it but I don't think I loved it" kinda movie for me.

 

Independence Day Resurgence: The original ID was one of the first movie I saw in the theaters as a kid and it's been a long time guilty pleasure of mine. It's dumb as all living shit but I love it so goddamn much. This was pretty much the perfect sequel to it. It's every bit as dumb but it doesn't insult your intelligence as much, so I guess it's an improvement?

 

The Neon Demon: Watched this one last night. It's from the director of Drive, although it couldn't be any more different (although it also has a fantastic soundtrack). This felt like a movie I should've found boring but I actually really loved it. There was something about it that was kind of mesmerizing in a really creepy way. Then it just kinda goes fucking nuts at the end. 10/10

 

 

I also finally watched Rogue One after two of my friends insisted it was great and added so much to A New Hope. LOL. No. It does not. It belongs in "Last Okay Movie You Saw" at best (and that's probably being generous) but fuck it, it doesn't deserve its own separate post so I'm just gonna shit on it here. The third act was cool but the first two bored the shit out of me. I also already knew how it ended so that removed a lot of the tension, especially given how fucking boring and bland most of the characters were. I really liked the two asian dudes and the droid but everyone else might as well have been cardboard cutouts. At this point I fucking dread the Han Solo movie.

Edited September 23, 2017 by FLD

[toxicitizen]

Went to see It tonight. I'm a huge Stephen King fanboy so I was really looking forward to seeing it. It's not very scary and kinda fails at building tension but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a pretty solid movie that ends up working more as a kid-friendly kind of horror. Think something like Gremlins or a darker version of Stranger Things. Hopefully part 2 will be a bit more effective with its scares but I'm really looking forward to it regardless. Really curious to see who they're gonna end up casting for the adults.

[Hot Heart]

Arrival

Finally got round to watching this. Slightly slow at times but it's a great "hard" sci-fi film that doesn't feel like one. Of course, that means some of the writing can be a bit "we need to make sure the real idiots understand this". Some great performances (you almost, almost buy Renner as a theoretical physicist), with some neat sound and music.

 

I think my only real gripe with it is that apart from a few moments there's never any real tension. There's the suspense at one point, but I never really got a sense of true jeopardy after that. Maybe it's too much of a cliche to take this route, but I feel like more could have been made of the

effects of learning the language making her seem less trustworthy or mentally stable. Plus, the intricacies of communicating and (mis)understanding language was really well explored but I think it would've been neater to feature more of the way the other nations were approaching it and getting different interpretations and thus creating tension between them in a sort of "prisoners dilemma" that was briefly touched on. Instead we got a simple "China are dumb because they're approaching communicating through the lens of a game/competition"

[deanb]

@Hot Heart

I guess it's been a bit since I saw it, but I took it as a "oh that's quite different to use mahjong, I guess they might be onto something on the language structure". And iirc that is what put the americans on the path of learning to write rather than learning to speak. Also part of the lack of inter-country communication was kind of the point of the movie. Which also ties in the "language changes how you think" stuff, in this case it's quite extreme but I believe you were one of the folks RT'ing my RT the other day about how Google turns English gendered phrases, to non-gendered Turkish, and then back into quite sexist gendered English again.

 

To continue the Villeneuve stuff:

Blade Runner 2049

So I'm catching word that initial estimates put it on track for a pretty bad opening weekend, which I guess isn't a huge surprise given the first took like 30 years to get into a position where a sequel could be made. It's a pretty dang long film. Maybe not the longest made in the past year, but with how it likes to luxuriate on certain shots and scenes you can really feel that full run time unlike say War of Planet of Apes.

 

Otherwise it looks great, I'm sure when it releases if you have a 4K TV this'll look great on it. Music is pretty dang spot on, and the plot itself I would say is much easier to follow and doesn't really end on much ambiguities (they're kind of aware of the total clusterfuck around the "is Deckard a replicant" stuff of the 7 versions of the first Blade Runner, and lean into it where they can but ultimately avoid it when it's important to be clear).

 

There's one great bit where they wholesale lift like 2 seconds of footage from the first and it doesn't look out of place at all. Which is a really great compliment of the first film in standing up for 35 years, but also a sign of how closely the current film matches the look of the first.

 

There's some neat moments in this film, I especially like the girl making up new replicant memories, though not sure it'll ultimately end up as iconic as the first (and I doubt we'll get a sequel, not that it really needs one).