Topic: The Movie Thread

Oppenheimer (cinema)

This one is so hard for me to gauge because it's so unlike anything I usually watch, but what I will say is that it was immensely engaging.

There's a lot to follow (to the point that I'll definitely have to watch it again once it releases on home video), but the acting is so immersive it took me until I was 1/3rd into the movie to realize that the admiral seeking the cabinet position (in the B&W scenes) was Robert Downey Jr.

On the downside, a storm knocked out the theatre's power for a bit (knocked out the screen for about a minute or two in the first hour), but it could have been much more disastrous (our power at home was locked out for 8 hours!)

On the upside, I think this is the first time I've seen a movie with nudity in the theatre. I was even ID'd by the ticketer to make sure I was old enough to get in (I'm over 30 BTW, lol).

watched the classic 1990 Navy Seals movie on Tubi last night.

Tonight, im watching Return to Oz on Disneyplus and then going back to Tubi to watch Hoodwinked Too and Matrix Resurrections and little bit more of Babylon 5 Season 2

Watched Transformers Rise of the Beasts last night and wow what a movie. I enjoyed it from start to finish. I will say that the last Transformers movie I saw was Age of Extinction. But agai. I enjoyed Rise of the Beasts.

saw Sound of Freedom at the theater this past weekend. Pretty good movie.

currently busy with these movies for DVD, blu ray and streaming apps

DVD
-Popeye the Movie
-Take Me Home Tonight
-Star Wars Clone Wars Season 2
-original George Romero Day of the Dead. mostly watching the DVD for the bonus features and maybe watch the movie with the commentary track on

Tubi
Matrix Resurrections
Subspecies V

Hulu
movie Supercell

So have had a very nice time watching the "old" X-men movies lately. Good stuff and really engaging movies so can highly recommend them to those who is looking for something interesting to watch.

Just got back from seeing The Creator.

It doesn't break any narrative ground for this type of film, but if you like future tech sci-fi it's a very good film. It looks fantastic, both in terms of the quality of the effects (may be the best looking CGI I've seen in a film this year) as well as in design (the tech reminded me a lot of 80's anime sci-fi like Akira, Venus Wars, Bubblegum Crisis & the like), which really immerses you into the world. The action is exciting when it occurs, and everyone seems to put in a good performance.

Might be a bit of recency bias, but I'd say it's one of my favorite films of the year (behind Oppenheimer & Mario, though it's definitely a "better" film than the latter), so it's a bit disappointing to see it hasn't been doing too well at the box office. On the plus side, I was the only person in the entire theatre, which was pretty cool.

@RR529 I want to see this one too. Indeed have not seen much talk around it...

for movies Im still doing my horror movie watchathon the rest of this month for DVD and blu ray

still have Phenomena+Creepers to watch for blu ray
rewatching The Kindred either with commentary track on or without
My Best Friend is a Vampire
Nightmare on Elm Street 1-5; New Nightmare even though I just watched them a month and half ago lol

Squirm which is on Tubi

A lot of stuff since my last post.

Cloud Atlas (Blu-Ray) - Six seemingly disconnected stories across time (the 1800's, 1930's, 1970's, 2012, 2100's, & Post Apocalypse) that all end up connected in some way or another. It jumps between eras frequently (it's not told in a chronological order) and each story has a different vibe (from future sci-fi blockbuster, comedy, conspiracy thriller, & more). I've always liked watching it as it's quite unlike anything else I've seen elsewhere (& I honestly think it comes together quite well), and rewatching it I honestly think it's been cemented as one of my favorite films of all time.

Piranha (4K UHD Blu-Ray) - The 1978 original. I've always liked watching this & it looks great cleaned up in 4K.

Princess Mononoke (Blu-Ray) - I knew this had a reputation for being a bit darker than your typical Ghibli fair, but man I was not prepared for how hard this thing would go. Almost surprised it got away with a PG-13 rating. Great film, though I think I prefer lighter fair when it comes to the studio.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Netflix) - I admit I wasn't chomping at the bit to see this, but I had just finished up Spider-Man 2 (the new game, not the Raimi film) so was in the mood. Even as someone who watches quite a bit of animation (especially anime) I usually side eye all the animation fans saying the Academy overlooks this or that for best picture every year, however in this case I think they may genuinely have a point. This is honestly the best movie I've seen this year other than maybe Oppenheimer. The visual style can perhaps be a bit too busy at times, but I honestly have nothing else to fault with it. It looks stunning, has absolutely kinetic action setpieces, some great narrative twists, is genuinely emotional, and is legitimately humorous. Furthermore, THIS is how you do inclusivity. Even as someone who sits on the more socially conservative side of things, I can admit that this film is not only "Woke", but is better off for it. At no point does it feel like they're checking boxes for the sake of it nor does it feel preachy (unlike the finale of the Falcon & Winter Soldier). This just genuinely feels like the film the artists wanted to make and it works wonderfully. I feel similarly about how it handles the multiverse. Sure, there is the very occasional call back to the greater cinematic (& gaming) history of Spider-Man, but that's very much in the background and not the point. Can't recommend it enough.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (Amazon Prime) - This was fun. Perhaps the complete opposite ethos of the above (the multiverse aspect very much IS for the shameless fan service), but I'd be lying if I said I didn't had a good time. The three live action Spider-Men had great chemistry, Willem Defoe looked like he was having fun chewing up the scenery as Green Goblin (though I question the choice of having something so transformative as the death of Aunt May happen at the hands of a villain with no connection to "Tom" Peter, let alone his universe ), and I always enjoy seeing Doctor Strange doing his thing (great fight scene there).

few things im busy with the rest of this month

Star Wars Rebels
Ron's Gone Wrong
Luca

these things on Tubi -Under Siege 1 and 2, the 1980s The Beast Within horror movie

300: Rise of an Empire (Blu-Ray) - Felt a bit more cartoony than the first, probably because of all the slow mo effects clearly there for 3D (and was mostly set concurrently to the first, rather than being an in depth prequel or sequel), but it's still quite a fun "dude film". Would love to see more stuff like this (& Sin City) come out of Hollywood.

Planes, Trains, & Automobiles (4K UHD Blu-Ray) - We watched this as a family for our annual Thanksgiving watch. The 80's is absolutely unmatched at these comedies that despite having some wacky moments somehow feel believable & grounded, and have a real heart to them.

Spirited Away (Blu-Ray) - Wonderfully animated & imaginative film. I don't think I'd seen this since the days of watching it on SDTV cable, so seeing it in HD brought some real life to it.

What the Peeper Saw (Blu-Ray) - Known in the UK as Night Hair Child, it's a 70's thriller where the new young wife of a widower suspects her calculating 12 year old stepson of murdering her husband's last wife (& the boy's mother). Interesting... but it definitely pushes some taboos you wouldn't be likely to see today in a film (or at the very least it'd be handled much differently).