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The Movies Thread!

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Re: The Movies Thread!

Postby Sonny » Jul 22, 2017 4:37 am

I'll admit that I too liked Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman, and I loved Wonder Woman. I have no idea what they were doing with Suicide Squad. I kinda hated that movie, but I didn't dislike the other ones the way some people did.

I got to see Spiderman: Homecoming opening weekend with two good friends. I thought it was pretty great! It was a departure I think form most non-ensemble MCU movies, but I'm guessing that has to do with the fact that this is the first MCU movie featuring a teenager as the lead. As far as high-school dramas, I think this is possibly the best one I've ever seen. It fit nicely into the MCU without feeling overshadowed by the Avengers. The significant plot twist at the end was a delight (even if a little forced?). I admit I was a little annoyed with how they slipped in Tony Stark proposing to Pepper Potts... in a Spiderman film?!. Overall, I gave it a 7/10 stars on IMDB. Not as good as Guardians 1 and 2 or Ant-Man, but still excellent.

In that vein, I'm very much looking forward to Thor: Ragnarok (Cate Blanchett anyone?!?!), Black Panther (super happy to see a large cast of POC), and Avengers: Infinity War (Avengers meet Guardians!!!).

With the release of the first trailer for the remake of A Wrinkle in Time I'll be rewatching the 2003 version. It'll be fun to see the updated movie, with better special effects too.
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Re: The Movies Thread!

Postby johobbit » Aug 21, 2017 12:08 pm

SnowAngel from back in February wrote:I haven't seen The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, but the library has it. I should get it the next time I am there.

If only Valkyrie had an alternate ending, then it would be worth rewatching.

Have you been able to see Sendler yet? Indeed, Valkyrie has a most difficult conclusion, but the courage of these men to stand up to the end to the Hitler and the Third Reich is so powerful. I ask myself, would I be able to do the same?

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but a favourite film (true story) of ours from the early 1940s is Sophie Scholl: The Final Days. Having just read the mind and heart-blowing books this year—The White Rose: Munich 1942-1943 by sister Inge Scholl and Sophie Scholl and the White Rose by Annette Dumbach and Jud Newborn—the bravery of these bright, insightful, astute young people is astounding.


AJ wrote:Speaking of how true stories are changed, I was upset when I read the book of Hidden Figures after seeing it in the cinema. The movie changes almost everything, and several of the scenes which I found striking and powerful aren't based on anything. I still like the movie a lot, but I have to wonder why they changed so much. Couldn't they have told a different, more truthful story?

Agreed! The book is really so different from the film. Same baseline, and a few similar details, but that's about it. Read the book, gang ... it's excellent! The movie is very inspiring, to be sure, but I, too, wish they had based it more on the book.

Anhun wrote:Has anyone else seen "Eye in the Sky"?

At your recommendation, I looked into this more, then purchased it a few weeks ago. A fascinating, extremely intense, and thought-provoking story. It raises a number of hard ethical questions, intended by the director (from the extras).

I have had a chance to watch a few films this summer:

The Man Who Never Was: about a very unusual (and successful) Allied espionage plan in WWII. I had never heard this story before ... fascinating! The movie was made not too long after the war, in 1956.

Luther: a brand-new documentary, which tells more of the story of this great reformer, without mincing his weak areas. This was made on the occasion of the 500th anniversary (this October) of the posting of his famous 95 theses.

The Kite Runner: I read the book years ago and was really gripped by it. What a powerful, moving, and hopeful story. It's fictional, but reads quite like a bio. The movie was very faithful and portrayed the account well. A hard story that shows the harsh reality of life in Afghanistan.

P.S. I can't believe I didn't mention Dunkirk, released in theatres a month ago. 'Tis an excellent WWII film by Christopher Nolan—his first non-fiction—of that miraculous evacuation of the Allies from Dunkirk beach. I had to see it a couple of times to put everything together and even the third time, I was still picking up on various bits. Apparently there is a Dunkirk veteran in Calgary, Alberta, who was moved to tears because of the realism and memories for him. Dear man.

Sometime the dialogue is tricky to understand, especially that of the pilots with their accents and masks over their faces. When we get the DVD, subtitles will go on, for sure.

Overall, though, there is not much dialogue in the film. Yet the storyline is portrayed so powerfully through this very dramatic transpiring event in 1940, as well as via the characters' silent, heroic actions and facial expressions.

The next film release I am anticipating is Darkest Hour (Nov. 22), the telling of Winston Churchill's extremely intense and decisive early days as PM in a terrible time. It looks excellent, with Gary Oldman :-o as Churchill. (I would never have recognized Oldman!)
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Re: The Movies Thread!

Postby SnowAngel » Sep 17, 2017 8:27 pm

johobbit wrote:
SnowAngel from back in February wrote:I haven't seen The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, but the library has it. I should get it the next time I am there.

If only Valkyrie had an alternate ending, then it would be worth rewatching.

Have you been able to see Sendler yet? Indeed, Valkyrie has a most difficult conclusion, but the courage of these men to stand up to the end to the Hitler and the Third Reich is so powerful. I ask myself, would I be able to do the same?
No, I haven't gotten it yet. A couple of times I was planning to, but it was checked out. I should put a hold on it.

I have put a hold on A United Kingdom, I have seen several excellent reviews for it.

The four Garage Sale Mystery movies released in August in Hallmark Movies and Mysteries were very well done. My sisters, Mom, and I really enjoyed watching them. :) Happy to hear there will be another new movie in January 2018.

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Re: The Movies Thread!

Postby Glumpuddle » Oct 08, 2017 3:57 pm

I just saw Blade Runner 2049 and loved it. I can't stop thinking about it. Going back for another viewing.

I think it works as a stand-alone. It expands on some themes in the original movie, but never resorts to just copy+pasting the iconic moments. It's not just a soft reboot cash grab. It's an actual movie.

So tragic to see it bombing at the box office. It did the right things every step of the way, including not giving much away in trailers.
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Re: The Movies Thread!

Postby narnia fan 7 » Oct 23, 2017 1:07 pm

I just saw Blade Runner 2049 and I liked it overall. It felt a bit long and drawn out at times, but it's a vary well made, well crafted movie.

I honestly wasn't expecting to like it much since I don't really like the original Blade Runner. It's not a bad movie just apart from it's great visuals I find kind of boring with a uninteresting story.
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Re: The Movies Thread!

Postby SnowAngel » Nov 03, 2017 5:52 pm

Hallmark Christmas movies are back! First new movie of the 2017 Christmas season aired on Saturday, it was Marry Me At Christmas which I give 3 stars - it was solid cute Hallmark movie.

Between Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries there will be four new Christmas movies this weekend! And the next weekend! And the weekend after that...and.... :D I am really looking forward to Engaging Father Christmas (sequel to Find Father Christmas 2016) on HM&M next weekend. I truly enjoy Erin Krakow (Elizabeth on When Calls The Heart) in the role of Miranda.

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Re: The Movies Thread!

Postby fantasia » Nov 05, 2017 11:25 am

Well, it took forever, but my husband and I finally watched Guardians of the Galaxy 2 last night. In two words? Massively disappointing. All of the scenes I liked were the scenes in the trailer, so I just needed to watch that and I was good to go. :P My parents and brother warned me I probably wouldn't like it, but I still wanted to see it as the first GotG is one of two favorite Marvel movies. Ah well.

Next up on Netflix is Spiderman: Homecoming. And this one happens to be my parents favorite Marvel movie, so I'll be curious to see what I think of it. I'm kind of Spidermaned out. :P ;))
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Re: The Movies Thread!

Postby ValiantArcher » Nov 10, 2017 7:34 pm

I don't think I've seen any Marvel movies since Captain America: Civil War, fk - that one kinda burned me out, especially after Age of Ultron. :P I may try to see Thor: Ragnarok but we'll see...

I was looking at World magazine's website and ran across a favourable review of On Wings of Eagles - a film about Eric Liddell in China after his time as an Olympian. His time in China was something new I learned about when reading The Flying Scotsman, and something that is probably overshadowed by his Olympic career. I have no idea how accurate it is, and apparently it came out in 2016, so I'm wondering why I've never heard of it. Anyone seen it? :)
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Re: The Movies Thread!

Postby johobbit » Nov 11, 2017 6:27 am

Valia, this is really cool, because I have On Wings of Eagles down on my Christmas list! I heard about this film when I was reading up on Joseph Fiennes playing Luther in the 2003 movie (Fiennes portrays Liddell in OWoE). Yes, Liddell's years in China, and ultimately in the POW camp, are definitely overshadowed by his Olympic career, and while I very much respect his stand in keeping to his principles by not competing on Sunday, his life and testimony shone even brighter in the POW camp, as he gave of himself over and over again until his (humanly-speaking) untimely death.

I am very eager to see this film and hope it is accurate to his honourable life. Wish we could watch it together!

This upcoming film, The Man Who Invented Christmas, sounds very interesting, although I'm not particularly fond of the title. :P As a great appreciator of Dickens' works (my nearly 91 year old father may be one of the biggest Dickens' fans in the world ;))), and especially A Christmas Carol, I am curious. Again, may it be faithful to what really happened. It releases on Nov. 22, the same day as another film I have been anticipating since the news of its production came out, Darkest Hour. It is obvious that the makeup/prosthetics Gary Oldman underwent to transform into Winston Churchill is phenomenal! Let's hope his characterization and a faithful story is just as excellent.

Hoping that for Christmas I will receive a DVD of a limited release film that came out in June, simply called Churchill, with Brian Cox as the Bulldog. It has been impossible to find in local stores, 'though the DVD released on Oct. 3. The focus of this movie is the 96 hours before the World War II invasion of Normandy.

Edit: Dunkirk's DVD releases on December 19. That is definitely going on the Christmas list too!
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Re: The Movies Thread!

Postby the4signs[repeat] » Nov 11, 2017 4:49 pm

fantasia_kitty wrote:Well, it took forever, but my husband and I finally watched Guardians of the Galaxy 2 last night. In two words? Massively disappointing. All of the scenes I liked were the scenes in the trailer, so I just needed to watch that and I was good to go. :P


I couldn't agree more. As my brother says, "Marvel sure can make a trailer this year!" The best parts of GotG2 and Thor Ragnarok are already in the trailer. GotG2 felt forced and they added a lot of low humor just for its own sake. /:) Spider-Man had a "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" vibe that is soooo not Peter Parker. He's supposed to be the goody-two-shoes of the MCU! The polar opposite of Tony Stark! Which is what made it such an interesting pairing as demonstrated in the fantastic scenes they share in Civil War. And now Thor Ragnarok. :-o Whaaat? The filmmakers were apparently going for a comedy (for the topic of Ragnarok -why?). There were some really great things about the movie (Cate Blanchett!), and some genuinely funny parts, but I felt like the show didn't have the emotional punch or even the humor since they never let me get any emotional traction. They were too busy doing comedy bits all the time. And I was distracted because none of the characters (with the possible exception of Bruce Banner) felt consistent with the previous movies of the MCU. Suddenly Thor rivals Tony Stark for snarky dialogue?
The Marvel movies have been a bit disappointing for me lately. But ever hopeful, I’m looking forward to the Black Panther movie! ;;)
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Re: The Movies Thread!

Postby Sonny » Nov 13, 2017 4:42 am

Interesting; I really loved GotG2. Like, a lot. I should re-watch it, certainly, and reevaluate, but I really liked it. Ragnarok on the other hand just failed to me. Good story line, but the writing was super forced. Made me sad, because I went in expecting to love it.
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Re: The Movies Thread!

Postby the4signs[repeat] » Nov 13, 2017 7:36 pm

There is a lot that I liked about GotG2. The message was really good, and some of the scenes were great (Baby Groot!). The same is true of Spider-Man -I consider the Vulture to be one of the best designed and portrayed villains in the MCU! Thor Ragnarok... well, maybe it will grow on me.

Has anyone seen Murder on the Orient Express yet? I was impressed, the movie is designed to run on the cinematography and acting alone, and both are great in my opinion. Some very clever camera work was involved. I enjoyed it very much, but then I'm an Agatha Christie fan. And a Kenneth Branagh film fan. :D Yeah, he's still the best Henry V. (Sorry, Tom Hiddleston!)
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Re: The Movies Thread!

Postby fantasia » Nov 13, 2017 7:42 pm

It's ok Sonny, it seems like most movies I do like nowadays everybody else hates. ;)) I figure my tastes must just be weird. ;)
Spiderman-Homecoming just arrived in the mail today. :) I'm looking forward to watching it.
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Re: The Movies Thread!

Postby daughter of the King » Nov 13, 2017 8:35 pm

I actually liked GotG2 better than the first one. I thought they hit the emotional beats with most of the relationships better. It did devolve into silliness multiple times though. Which I don't mind as when I watch a superhero movie mostly I just want to have fun. A deeper story like with Winter Soldier or Wonder Woman is great, but most superhero movies don't balance dark and light very well despite the subject material so if I can only have angst or fun I'd rather just have fun. ;)) That's probably why Ragnarok is now my favorite Thor film.

the4signs[repeat] wrote:Has anyone seen Murder on the Orient Express yet?

Yes! I thought it was excellent. It suffers from the same fate as all Agatha Christie adaptations where if you already know the ending there's a lot less tension, but Branagh is a brilliant director and the cast was incredible.
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Re: The Movies Thread!

Postby SnowAngel » Nov 24, 2017 8:30 pm

My sisters and I loved Engaging Father Christmas, I think it was even better than Finding Father Christmas. I definitely need to read the book again. Engaging Father Christmas and Christmas Homecoming are my favorite 2017 Hallmark Christmas movies. I was really surprised how well Hallmark did with everything in Christmas Homecoming. Usually their military stories are well meaning, but miss the mark. That was not the case with Christmas Homecoming.

My library has Dunkirk on order, so I put a hold on it, sixth on the list so when they actually have the DVD I should get it within a few weeks.

I have been hearing a lot about Murder on the Orient Express, definitely interested in seeing it when it is on DVD. I think I saw on Tumblr that Death on the Nile is going to be made next. :)

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Re: The Movies Thread!

Postby aileth » Nov 25, 2017 9:36 am

Hey, has anybody else here (except johobbit--I know you have :) ) seen the movies put out by Little Crew Studios? The first is The Runner from Ravenshead and the second The Defense of New Haven. (Really, really hoping there is a third).

Not a superhero movie, exactly--it is a family style movie, and definitely not a Hollywood blockbuster. Maybe that's why I like it so well?

I wrote a review of it here: https://ailethelgin.wordpress.com/2016/09/22/the-defense-of-new-haven-a-movie-review.

On their website http://littlecrewstudios.com, they have been doing an Our Story/behind the scenes feature, which I have been enjoying.
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