God I hated this movie so bad. What a waste of time and how did it even receive such high ratings.
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Movies You've Seen Recently | February 2019
- Thread starter Divius
- Start date
God I hated this movie so bad. What a waste of time and how did it even receive such high ratings.
I don't know. I don't get it either. The book was bad, but the movie changed so much without making it better, and added a dumb additional character.
They just kept adding more stupidity on top.
I'd been trying to get it from the library for a month, which was a waste of time. Ended up getting my friend who works there to snag it and hide it in her office, because it's a short rental with $1 late fees and people grab movies quickly. And often walk around with them or sit at a computer with them for hours.
The Terminator - The structure of the Terminator is pretty damn perfect. The first 30 mins we frankly have no idea what's really happening. Two naked guys show up, both lookin for Sarah Connor. We see glimpses of a future war but we don't grasp the connection between that and the present. It's only at Tech Noir, half a hour of intrigue later, all three major characters combine, and one of them tells our targeted protagonist, "Come with me if you want to live!". Then the next hour or so is just pure cat and mouse thriller, with tense bursts of exposition in between chase scenes and shootouts.
Linda Hamilton is frankly extraordinary in this movie. She has to very quickly sell us on being a likable confused nobody, to a terrified but more confused prey, to vulnerable but coming to terms with the situation, and finally a battle hardened survivor who refuses to give up. All the emotional attachment comes through the consistent characterization of her performance, in the rare moments of downtime the narrative affords her, and she just kills it. She's the beating heart inside the machine of a movie.
And what a machine it is! The work of a filmmaker who grew up in the trenches under Roger Corman and had something to prove. Cameron knows how to stretch his limited budget for maximum value, with a full commitment and confidence that this movie was gonna be major. You can tell with more time and money, this guy was gonna make the biggest movies in the world. Yet I'm not sure he's ever made a better one.
Linda Hamilton is frankly extraordinary in this movie. She has to very quickly sell us on being a likable confused nobody, to a terrified but more confused prey, to vulnerable but coming to terms with the situation, and finally a battle hardened survivor who refuses to give up. All the emotional attachment comes through the consistent characterization of her performance, in the rare moments of downtime the narrative affords her, and she just kills it. She's the beating heart inside the machine of a movie.
And what a machine it is! The work of a filmmaker who grew up in the trenches under Roger Corman and had something to prove. Cameron knows how to stretch his limited budget for maximum value, with a full commitment and confidence that this movie was gonna be major. You can tell with more time and money, this guy was gonna make the biggest movies in the world. Yet I'm not sure he's ever made a better one.
Finally watched Bohemian Rhapsody over the weekend, it was fine, wife got the 4K UHD and it looked nice. Music was good, and laughed a bit. Didn't think it was anything super awesome or amazing though.
Also saw Cold Pursuit and.. hot damn, I think that might be my favorite movie of the year so far. Completely unexpected and great. Need to check out the original on Vudu soon.
Also saw Cold Pursuit and.. hot damn, I think that might be my favorite movie of the year so far. Completely unexpected and great. Need to check out the original on Vudu soon.
Been on a gangster flick streak, which in turn ignited an desire to dig into Scorsese's filmography. Saving that for March but in the meantime, I saw Godfather 1 and 2 essentially for the first time
The Godfather
★★★★★
It had been so long since I'd last seen this, that my only memory of the film was a haze of famous lines and referenced moments. So for all intents and purposes, this was my first time watching The Godfather, old enough to fully understand and appreciate it.
Compared to the many movies that have followed in its wake, what stands out about The Godfather is how deliberate it is. The classic crime epic moves at such a measured pace, fleshing out its many protagonists with equal nuance. Every scene, line, and cinematic element is so carefully utilized, establishing personality and theme with each detail. From Vito to Michael, Tom to Sonny, every notable character leaves a distinct first impression, one that the film precedes to peel away through its grand narrative. Conflict foments change, and The Godfather spares no one. No evolution is more evident than Michael's; the smiling war hero late to the wedding is a very different person from the man we see at the end of the film.
The Godfather constantly contrasts the elegant facade of honor and tradition with the ruthless reality of business. The film's very first scene sharply divides its storytelling between joyous celebration and discussions of harsh justice, a juxtaposition that continues throughout. Gentlemanly discourse begets violence and death, but gradually the line between family and business blurs. A line that is all but erased by The Godfather's infamous finale, as the film precisely cuts between new life and brutal death.
Dense, emotional, engrossing, meticulous, sophisticated. The Godfather is all of those and more. Nearly five decades later, this rich story of crime and family remains an impeccably-constructed masterpiece.
The Godfather: Part II
★★★★★
From New York to Havana, past to present, The Godfather Part 2 is an exercise in contrast. Two storylines thematically juxtapose Vito's fateful rise and Michael's tragic downfall, a truly epic narrative that dwarfs the first film in its complexity.
Vito's story - from Sicilian childhood to burgeoning crime boss - acts as a wonderfully compelling prequel. We witness circumstance and encounters mold the young immigrant into the Don we know so well, through a lively pace and quaint period atmosphere. Following Vito's struggles on the streets of New York sharply accentuates Michael's destructive tenure as Don. Humble legacy versus violent feud, the bustle of Little Italy versus Cuba and Miami and Nevada, the bonds of blood and culture versus familial strife and absolute power corrupting absolutely.
In all aspects, Part 2 is more ambitious and grander than the classic original. But I found the first Godfather's family dynamic and focused character study of Michael to be a tad more engrossing.
GoodFellas (Rewatch)
★★★★★
If you had any doubts, the opening of Goodfellas tells you exactly what kind of gangster film it is. Scorsese's crime drama is a story of gruesome bloodshed and psychopaths living in a fantasy. While voice-over narration can often feel lazy, Scorsese excellently uses the technique to contrast Henry's twisted notions of respect, success, "family" with the grotesque reality of his personality and actions. What we see and how Henry sees things are very different perspectives.
Rewatching Goodfellas after Godfather really highlights the former's strengths. The Godfather is the mob life mythicized, an elegant tale of operatic violence and honor and family above all. Goodfellas is the brutal reality, where that close-knit network is an intoxicating morally-corrosive quagmire that distorts right and wrong. Where its protagonists aren't honorable men with a code, but sociopathic brutes for whom murder and causal violence is normal.
Casino
★★★★½
Mean Streets
★★★
The Godfather
★★★★★
It had been so long since I'd last seen this, that my only memory of the film was a haze of famous lines and referenced moments. So for all intents and purposes, this was my first time watching The Godfather, old enough to fully understand and appreciate it.
Compared to the many movies that have followed in its wake, what stands out about The Godfather is how deliberate it is. The classic crime epic moves at such a measured pace, fleshing out its many protagonists with equal nuance. Every scene, line, and cinematic element is so carefully utilized, establishing personality and theme with each detail. From Vito to Michael, Tom to Sonny, every notable character leaves a distinct first impression, one that the film precedes to peel away through its grand narrative. Conflict foments change, and The Godfather spares no one. No evolution is more evident than Michael's; the smiling war hero late to the wedding is a very different person from the man we see at the end of the film.
The Godfather constantly contrasts the elegant facade of honor and tradition with the ruthless reality of business. The film's very first scene sharply divides its storytelling between joyous celebration and discussions of harsh justice, a juxtaposition that continues throughout. Gentlemanly discourse begets violence and death, but gradually the line between family and business blurs. A line that is all but erased by The Godfather's infamous finale, as the film precisely cuts between new life and brutal death.
Dense, emotional, engrossing, meticulous, sophisticated. The Godfather is all of those and more. Nearly five decades later, this rich story of crime and family remains an impeccably-constructed masterpiece.
The Godfather: Part II
★★★★★
From New York to Havana, past to present, The Godfather Part 2 is an exercise in contrast. Two storylines thematically juxtapose Vito's fateful rise and Michael's tragic downfall, a truly epic narrative that dwarfs the first film in its complexity.
Vito's story - from Sicilian childhood to burgeoning crime boss - acts as a wonderfully compelling prequel. We witness circumstance and encounters mold the young immigrant into the Don we know so well, through a lively pace and quaint period atmosphere. Following Vito's struggles on the streets of New York sharply accentuates Michael's destructive tenure as Don. Humble legacy versus violent feud, the bustle of Little Italy versus Cuba and Miami and Nevada, the bonds of blood and culture versus familial strife and absolute power corrupting absolutely.
In all aspects, Part 2 is more ambitious and grander than the classic original. But I found the first Godfather's family dynamic and focused character study of Michael to be a tad more engrossing.
GoodFellas (Rewatch)
★★★★★
If you had any doubts, the opening of Goodfellas tells you exactly what kind of gangster film it is. Scorsese's crime drama is a story of gruesome bloodshed and psychopaths living in a fantasy. While voice-over narration can often feel lazy, Scorsese excellently uses the technique to contrast Henry's twisted notions of respect, success, "family" with the grotesque reality of his personality and actions. What we see and how Henry sees things are very different perspectives.
Rewatching Goodfellas after Godfather really highlights the former's strengths. The Godfather is the mob life mythicized, an elegant tale of operatic violence and honor and family above all. Goodfellas is the brutal reality, where that close-knit network is an intoxicating morally-corrosive quagmire that distorts right and wrong. Where its protagonists aren't honorable men with a code, but sociopathic brutes for whom murder and causal violence is normal.
Casino
★★★★½
Mean Streets
★★★
I haven't seen either in years, but I always preferred Mean Streets to Goodfellas even though it's way rougher. I like that it's mostly them just hanging out at the bar.
The Holy Girl - Damn if Lucrecia Martel ain't one of the best directors working today. I've seen her four features since loving Zama early last year, and The Holy Girl, her 2nd, continues the hot streak. I've read her work described as pointillist, and that's very apt. Her films aren't plot driven in any sense, but character moments get layered on, beautiful shot after beautiful shot. Background sound figures heavily into all of her work. The film finally builds up to a conflict, and then it simply looks away and drifts off. 4/5
End Game: Undoubtedly a very difficult watch with the amount of subjects in their final days and weeks, but the overwhelming dignity in which their journeys and the impact that their palliative staff and family members have on them cannot be overstated. Aside from a rather courageous head of a hospice care center with his own tragedy he's had to cope with as a triple amputee, there's virtually no talking head interviews as the filmmakers were granted an impressive amount of access into the lives of the subjects as we follow them on their final journey. Though there are several, some of which appear for just a scene, the focus on one in particular gives the proper breadth of what is done during such trying times and feels enlightening as to the actual process itself, from the initial talks with the family members to the follow-ups as progress varies on a daily or weekly basis. There's nothing fancy here, but the absence of more elaborate flourishes is much to the benefit of the footage on display here, as there's nothing but pure, unencumbered empathy for everyone we spend some time with. I do have a strange desire to see this expanded out to feature length, which is simultaneously a ringing endorsement for the treatment that the filmmakers were able to achieve here and telling of my innate glutton for emotional punishment.
do you guys use letterboxd?
I just got one and kinda addicted to archiving and rating shit.
I just got one and kinda addicted to archiving and rating shit.
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Went to the Oscar shorts (live action) and woo boy...
Mother
Strong performance from the woman playing the mother, but this is basically just misery porn. It serves no purpose except building on the parental fear of possibly hearing final moments of your child.
2/5
Fauve
Remember Apaches? That PSA from 1977 with the children playing on a farm and all dying horrible deaths? This is a modern version of that.
Again, I don't feel that this offers anything outside of shock value. Yeah, let's watch an elongated scene of a child slowly sinking to his death. Yay, filmmaking!
2/5
Marguerite
Overly sweet, perhaps too sweet, filled with obvious camera cuts and obligatory "emotional piano chords". However, after the brutal assault of the previous two films I was happy to see a film that didn't include someone dying a horrible death or getting kidnapped.
3.5/5
Detainment
...but enough sweetness, let's go back to kidnapping and murder.
This little film has quite the reputation already. It's a shame the filmmakers are such amoral assholes, because the children playing Jon and Ronnie are very good (and very creepy). But yeah, I cannot condone making a film like this. Still, a point for those kids.
1.5/5
Skin
How anybody thought this was a good idea for a movie escapes me. What the actual fuck, this is a new level of tone deafness. I can't believe nobody told this guy "no" when he pitched the idea and I can't believe this actually got nominated. This is worse than Green Book, worse than Crash, this is abhorrent.
.5/5
Mother
Strong performance from the woman playing the mother, but this is basically just misery porn. It serves no purpose except building on the parental fear of possibly hearing final moments of your child.
2/5
Fauve
Remember Apaches? That PSA from 1977 with the children playing on a farm and all dying horrible deaths? This is a modern version of that.
Again, I don't feel that this offers anything outside of shock value. Yeah, let's watch an elongated scene of a child slowly sinking to his death. Yay, filmmaking!
2/5
Marguerite
Overly sweet, perhaps too sweet, filled with obvious camera cuts and obligatory "emotional piano chords". However, after the brutal assault of the previous two films I was happy to see a film that didn't include someone dying a horrible death or getting kidnapped.
3.5/5
Detainment
...but enough sweetness, let's go back to kidnapping and murder.
This little film has quite the reputation already. It's a shame the filmmakers are such amoral assholes, because the children playing Jon and Ronnie are very good (and very creepy). But yeah, I cannot condone making a film like this. Still, a point for those kids.
1.5/5
Skin
How anybody thought this was a good idea for a movie escapes me. What the actual fuck, this is a new level of tone deafness. I can't believe nobody told this guy "no" when he pitched the idea and I can't believe this actually got nominated. This is worse than Green Book, worse than Crash, this is abhorrent.
.5/5
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Yea, it's fun. Mine is in my profile. If you find a Era group or something let me know.
There's a big list of letterboxd profiles in the OP.
oh shit nice, bout to check it out!
If it's no hassle add me y'all at @mychael908.
Creed 2
4/5
Absolutely loved it. Would put it neck and neck with the first movie. Baby Drago was one mean looking motherfucker but I felt for him, and Ivan Drago too. I even think I liked the actual boxing in this movie more than the first one. Some amazing shots in this. Some clunky dialogue and some scenes felt like they were cut way too short, but I really don't have any real gripes. I love Rocky and Creed so damn much, I hope they make these sort of movies forever
4/5
Absolutely loved it. Would put it neck and neck with the first movie. Baby Drago was one mean looking motherfucker but I felt for him, and Ivan Drago too. I even think I liked the actual boxing in this movie more than the first one. Some amazing shots in this. Some clunky dialogue and some scenes felt like they were cut way too short, but I really don't have any real gripes. I love Rocky and Creed so damn much, I hope they make these sort of movies forever
Hell or High Water (2016) - A really good drama. Chris Pine in rare form. Jeff Bridges kicking ass as usual. Ben Foster with another great, sometimes erratic performance.
There's this cool thing it does where Texan personalities very briefly interact with the main characters in passing, people who I assume are not actors, and it's pretty charming. Gets real as fuck towards the end out of nowhere, in a good way. Satisfying conclusion.
There's this cool thing it does where Texan personalities very briefly interact with the main characters in passing, people who I assume are not actors, and it's pretty charming. Gets real as fuck towards the end out of nowhere, in a good way. Satisfying conclusion.
Snowpiercer
Meh. Bong Joon-Ho fell hard after Memories of Murder and The Host, but Mother at least had something interesting in it. Snowpiercer offers nothing other than a couple of weird scenes and captain obvious level of commentary on inequality and humanity. A total waste of talented cast. 2.5/5
Star Trek: Beyond
I heard old school trekkies consider it to be the best among the Abrams' produced films and closest in tone to the series. It's a good thing I'm not a Trek fan because that's the most boring sci-fi adventure I've seen in years (not counting new Lost in Space). 2/5
Meh. Bong Joon-Ho fell hard after Memories of Murder and The Host, but Mother at least had something interesting in it. Snowpiercer offers nothing other than a couple of weird scenes and captain obvious level of commentary on inequality and humanity. A total waste of talented cast. 2.5/5
Star Trek: Beyond
I heard old school trekkies consider it to be the best among the Abrams' produced films and closest in tone to the series. It's a good thing I'm not a Trek fan because that's the most boring sci-fi adventure I've seen in years (not counting new Lost in Space). 2/5
Both of these were disappointing to me for the same reasons. The exposition in Snowpiercer in particular was delivered with a huge, glowing sledgehammer.
At least there, the context is Hunt putting up a facade and playing a role
I know but it was equally funny.
Really fun flick though. The emotional beats of these films never work for me so the more sombre tone here was something I didn't enjoy relative to its predecessor but good god did they shoot the heck out of this film. Some stunning sequences. IMAX footage looks incredible.
I'm watching Mad Max: Fury Road (my third watch), and is trying to figure out the War Rig:
I see Furiosa stole 3000 gallons of guzzoline which I assume is in the large tank, and then there's the fuel pod in the back which also stocks gasoline. But where is the water that she stole stored? I didn't see where the water hose was connected to but seems to be stored underneath the large tank?
I see Furiosa stole 3000 gallons of guzzoline which I assume is in the large tank, and then there's the fuel pod in the back which also stocks gasoline. But where is the water that she stole stored? I didn't see where the water hose was connected to but seems to be stored underneath the large tank?
Love this reply. I asked a question about the most important detail. I blame The Terminator from last night hurting my head, and needing some other detail to think about. 🤣
Talking about Fury Road, who are the people Max sees in his visions? I assume those are his daughters, but there's other people too, who I guess were part of his crew earlier.
Green Room
This movie was so much better than I thought it would be. Kept me on edge pretty much the whole movie.
This movie was so much better than I thought it would be. Kept me on edge pretty much the whole movie.
Fury Road takes place in a weird Breath of the Wild style time-paradox in the continuity that doesnt really care about the timeline save for the fact that it (very briefly) references characters and events from all the previous movies.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Kaufman's hopeless romanticism and Gondrys virtuoso flights on fancy push and pull each other to create something genuinely original. The tightest of right ropes; a heady high concept puzzle box that frequently flashes forward, back, on top of itself, through mutiple planes of consciousness and unconsciousness, and yet is completely coherent.
More impressive is that's its humans feel real and not just cogs in a machine. It helps that Carrey and Winslet are giving the two best performances of their careera in their respective roles, but it's deeper than that. Using the tricky nature of memories and the subjective/objective nature of observation, the audience comes to know Joel and Clementine better than they know themselves or each other. The culimination of years builds to an emotional resonance about the necessary experience of life. Pain, embarrassment, excitement, joy, love, hate; it's a package deal. You have to take the good with the bad. Don't dwell on the fact that things inevitably die; cherish the fact that it lived at all.
My one half star off from an otherwise brilliant much beloved film is that I'm always two minds about the sub plots with Dunst and Ruffalo and the others in the real world. The realistic lighting and naturalistic Acting are a great contrast to the whimsy, shifting nature of Joel's memories, but I'm not sure how to feel about the whole secret affair thing the script is going for. Also, Mark Ruffalos entire look need to be punched in the face.
More impressive is that's its humans feel real and not just cogs in a machine. It helps that Carrey and Winslet are giving the two best performances of their careera in their respective roles, but it's deeper than that. Using the tricky nature of memories and the subjective/objective nature of observation, the audience comes to know Joel and Clementine better than they know themselves or each other. The culimination of years builds to an emotional resonance about the necessary experience of life. Pain, embarrassment, excitement, joy, love, hate; it's a package deal. You have to take the good with the bad. Don't dwell on the fact that things inevitably die; cherish the fact that it lived at all.
My one half star off from an otherwise brilliant much beloved film is that I'm always two minds about the sub plots with Dunst and Ruffalo and the others in the real world. The realistic lighting and naturalistic Acting are a great contrast to the whimsy, shifting nature of Joel's memories, but I'm not sure how to feel about the whole secret affair thing the script is going for. Also, Mark Ruffalos entire look need to be punched in the face.
Oh man, I don't need another time paradox. Also, I've never seen any of the old Mad Max films, so I'm strictly talking about Fury Road. I like that the movie gives us these bread crumbs and then we can chew on it and think about what it means. One question the film left me with was, if Furiosa tried escaping many times before, how come she's still considered Immortan Joe's Imperator. She must have done something to be in his good graces again.
Anyway, I saw The Terminator for the first time last night and loved it. I thought almost every single scene was very well directed.
The Terminator (1984): ★★★★☆
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015): ★★★★★
About Fury Road. I disliked it during my first watch at the cinema, then I somewhat liked it on my second watch, and today's third watch has made me absolutely love it.
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Well, I did come around didn't I. Also, I more so disliked it, than hated on it.
Did my top 20 on Letterboxd, but forgot to add it into the resetera poll. Sorry fans of Burning and Shoplifters.
https://boxd.it/2xQ3G
https://boxd.it/2xQ3G
I figured Avengers: Infinity War would win. Aquaman + Ant Man in the top 10.. I've given up hope.
Can't believe Mortal Engines isn't in the top 10 of the year for any of you guys. You know it has the Minions in it, right? Truly a modern classic.
The Little Hours
I absolutely loved this movie. Kept seeing it on Netlfix and put it off because I just felt uninspired by what I saw in the trailers, but I thought it was hilarious. A strange mix between dark/cringey humor and an almost arthousy feel. The movie had some nice looking shots, all the actors were great in their roles, and the music was really enjoyable. What stood out to me the most though, was just how unique the film felt. The closest point of reference to me would be Yorgos Lanthimos' movies. I'd call it a comedy, but at the same time it's trying to be serious and artistic, and it doesn't feel too concerned with fully explaining itself. It's weird.
I definitely wouldn't say that it's not a movie for everybody... probably not even for most people. But, if you're able to just sit and take the good from something kind of weird that doesn't take itself too seriously (but at the same time sort of does?), then you might find something to enjoy like me.
I absolutely loved this movie. Kept seeing it on Netlfix and put it off because I just felt uninspired by what I saw in the trailers, but I thought it was hilarious. A strange mix between dark/cringey humor and an almost arthousy feel. The movie had some nice looking shots, all the actors were great in their roles, and the music was really enjoyable. What stood out to me the most though, was just how unique the film felt. The closest point of reference to me would be Yorgos Lanthimos' movies. I'd call it a comedy, but at the same time it's trying to be serious and artistic, and it doesn't feel too concerned with fully explaining itself. It's weird.
I definitely wouldn't say that it's not a movie for everybody... probably not even for most people. But, if you're able to just sit and take the good from something kind of weird that doesn't take itself too seriously (but at the same time sort of does?), then you might find something to enjoy like me.
This^
I finally watched Shoplifters a few days ago. God damn that's a touching movie. That plus Burning are my two favorite movies of the year
The Girl Without Hands: A Brothers Grimm tale gets one of the most visually audacious adaptations imaginable here, along with a timely update of certain story elements to give this a very welcome feminist charge. That latter point is a strong one indeed, as the trials and tribulations of the Girl carry with them a great deal of agency on her part, ensuring that in even the most dire of circumstances, she holds so many cards that don't require hands to use at all. And wow, it blows my mind just how much of a stunner this is to watch in motion, drawn by just the director and making full use of its outline-heavy sketch animation for some brilliant transitions and finding themselves quite easy to adapt for the fantasy and horror inherent to the tale. It's an experimental animation style for sure, and one that I can't imagine having a particularly large audience for, but I found myself truly enraptured by it and could not think of a more fitting way to render this frequently overlooked tale. This is quite stunning and deserves a bigger following.
The World Is Not Enough: ★★★☆☆
Been on a bit of Bond kick lately, or at least through the Brosnan era films. Maybe I'll expand it into working through all of them. There are several I've never seen before, and I've wanted to get around to seeing them all at least once.
The World Is Not Enough brings 007 back for more chases, martinis, babes, action setpieces, and cheesy one-liners. This is the first time I'd seen this in many years, and I was struck by the number of plot elements (Bond's shoulder injury, a terrorist with a personal vendetta against M, an explosion at MI-6 headquarters) this shares with Skyfall. Now I'm going to drop a RADICALLY hot take and say the worst part of this movie, the thing that really prevents it from being a good film, is Christmas Jones, played by Denise Richards. Everything about this character is awful. The way she's written, Denise Richards' performance, the way she dresses, the way she is framed by the camera, the character's name (which seemingly exists just for a stale joke that's lost power after your 100th listen to "Back Door Santa," a song that came out in the fuckin 60s), literally everything. The movie is so much more interesting when it's focused on Bond and his relationships to M and the other Bond-girl: Elektra. I wish there had been a lot more of that.
How to Train Your Dragon: ★★★★☆
Rewatching these before going to see the 3rd one.
This movie is definitely walking a well-worn path, so the result is predictable and cliche-ridden. And not all of the visuals have aged gracefully, which is maybe to be expected out of this style of animation. Hair looks especially bad.
But these movies really live and die by the quality of the relationship between man and beast/alien/robot, and I like this one. Toothless is somehow overwhelmingly cute while still wielding some raw dragon menace when needed, and the relationship that blossoms between him and Hiccup is beautiful and evocative of our own relationships to pets. I mentioned the dated visuals, but that definitely doesn't apply to the animation of Toothless and his flight sequences, which still look amazing nearly a decade after release. Also the score is pretty great. I'm ready for the 2nd one.
Been on a bit of Bond kick lately, or at least through the Brosnan era films. Maybe I'll expand it into working through all of them. There are several I've never seen before, and I've wanted to get around to seeing them all at least once.
The World Is Not Enough brings 007 back for more chases, martinis, babes, action setpieces, and cheesy one-liners. This is the first time I'd seen this in many years, and I was struck by the number of plot elements (Bond's shoulder injury, a terrorist with a personal vendetta against M, an explosion at MI-6 headquarters) this shares with Skyfall. Now I'm going to drop a RADICALLY hot take and say the worst part of this movie, the thing that really prevents it from being a good film, is Christmas Jones, played by Denise Richards. Everything about this character is awful. The way she's written, Denise Richards' performance, the way she dresses, the way she is framed by the camera, the character's name (which seemingly exists just for a stale joke that's lost power after your 100th listen to "Back Door Santa," a song that came out in the fuckin 60s), literally everything. The movie is so much more interesting when it's focused on Bond and his relationships to M and the other Bond-girl: Elektra. I wish there had been a lot more of that.
How to Train Your Dragon: ★★★★☆
Rewatching these before going to see the 3rd one.
This movie is definitely walking a well-worn path, so the result is predictable and cliche-ridden. And not all of the visuals have aged gracefully, which is maybe to be expected out of this style of animation. Hair looks especially bad.
But these movies really live and die by the quality of the relationship between man and beast/alien/robot, and I like this one. Toothless is somehow overwhelmingly cute while still wielding some raw dragon menace when needed, and the relationship that blossoms between him and Hiccup is beautiful and evocative of our own relationships to pets. I mentioned the dated visuals, but that definitely doesn't apply to the animation of Toothless and his flight sequences, which still look amazing nearly a decade after release. Also the score is pretty great. I'm ready for the 2nd one.
