What Movie Did You Just Watch

[Foggle]

Personally, I loved Star Trek: Beyond. I liked it way more than both previous films and even The Force Awakens. But yeah, not a great year for summer blockbusters. That said, another summer movie I really liked was The Infiltrator. A lot of people seemed to find it boring, and I suppose I can see where they're coming from, but stuff like this usually keeps me riveted, and the lead actors were great. I still need to see Hell or High Water, Don't Breathe, and Kubo, all of which interest me greatly.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I've seen two of those three and absolutely loved both. I might check out Don't Breathe this weekend.

As for STB, I agree that it was better than the first two, but I never cared for either of them to begin with. I didn't outright dislike the movie. I just didn't find much to invest in with either the Enterprise crew or the villains, so I just wasn't feeling it very much. To be fair though, I'm in the minority on that one.

[Avaitor]

Yeah, this wasn't one of the best summers of recent memories, but I'd say that it isn't any weaker than last summer. Although that one did have Fury Road and Inside Out, but this also had Civil War and Kubo.

[Avaitor]

For my birthday this year, I got a $50 Amazon giftcard, and I decided to use most of that on the Universal Monsters Blu collection. The European version is somehow $30 cheaper than the American one, and also happens to be region-free and have basically the same content, so I went with that instead. And I had enough to buy a CD on top of that!

So tonight I decided to do a double-feature of the original and Bride of Frankenstein, and they look so good here, well beyond even TCM's prints of them. If I have time tomorrow, I'll follow this up with Dracula and The Mummy. And I think in between and over the next few days, I'll follow this up by watching the rest of their Frankenstein movies elsewhere. Watching these and Young Frankenstein really have me in the mood to, and I haven't seen most of them. I'll still try to find time to rewatch Dracula's Daughter for 31 Days of Horror, as well.

[Avaitor]

I'm almost done with Son of Frankenstein, and I definitely think that this is better than its reputation precedes it to be. Then again, it seems to be decently liked today, and James even made it the highest-ranking Universal film in his list of best horror films from the 30's. I don't think that I prefer it to Bride, but there's plenty to like here.

For one thing, this is a full 20-30 minutes longer than the previous Frankenstein films, which gives it more time for character building, which it does pretty well. Basil Rathbone does a good job as Wolf (yes, that is his name, and it's pronounced with a W), and arguably does a better job than Colin Clive did as his father. The rest of the cast is pretty strong too, aside from the kid, although Bela's Ygor performance can definitely be a bit much for some people. I also find Karloff to be a little disappointing here, losing much of the subtlety he brought to Bride, aside for one or two scenes. Apparently he was never a fan of the more intelligent Monster present in the novel and hinted at for Bride, which is why he was dumbed down a little here. I can't say that I approve.

Anyway, this is better than I was expecting, and I might consider nominating it for next year's 31 Days. Although if I recall right, we only nominated Bride in the first place.

[Pharass]

Went and saw Arrival yesterday. Terrific movie, I recommend it to anyone interested in science-fiction of the more cerebral kind.

[Winnie the Pooh]

Ol' film Sissi. I hate Romy Schneider  :immad:but the setting of the Bavarian Alps (https://tranio.com/germany/bavaria/munich/commercial/) is cool, ?anked by fairy-tail craggy giants, foothills and lakes glistening like sapphires in the sunshine.

[Avaitor]

Maybe I'm just a sadistic bastard, but Martyrs was a lot tamer than I was expecting.

[Avaitor]

And this year's nominations for Best Picture are:

Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell Or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester By The Sea
Moonlight

No real surprises this year. I've seen 5 out of 9, and Manchester by the Sea and Hell or High Water are easily my best choices. I actually found Arrival, Moonlight, and La La Land each somewhat underwhelming.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Heh. I've only seen Hell or High Water. The only other ones that interest me are Manchester by the Sea, Moonlight, and Arrival.

[Pharass]

The only one I've seen on that list is Arrival.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Not going to lie. I rather enjoyed Split. Oh, don't get me wrong, it has plenty of M. Night Shyamalan's absurdities to go around (which, to be fair, ususally tend to add entertainment value to his films, especially the bad ones), but I did also surprisingly find a lot of legitimate things to enjoy here as well, not least of which is James McAvoy's performance(s).

On a side note, though, am I the only one who saw the "twist" coming? I thought it was pretty obvious after a certain point in the movie what was really going on and what it was ultimately building up to, making the final reveal at the end more of a cool little nod to the viewers than an actual surprise.

But, hey, I still dug it either way....

Spoiler

It also got me to re-watch Unbreakable, so that's definitely a plus.

[close]

[Spark Of Spirit]

I saw John Wick 2. I had thought it was great.

They apparently knew exactly what they were doing since they added all the exact things people wanted more of. More lore, more character moments, more humor, and a lot more gunfights. That ending was dynamite, too.

All I can say is that if you enjoyed the first one, you really should see this. It's a sequel done right.

[Avaitor]

I finally saw Gremlins 2 for the first time, when I decided to double feature both films. I still enjoy the first, but it's not that special. The second is a lot more fun, IMO! And you can probably guess what my favorite part was.

Apparently Chris Columbus is working on a new one, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea. Not just because he's kind of whatever as a filmmaker, but apparently he didn't like the direction Joe Dante took 2 in, and wants another take on it without him. I don't think that's going to turn out great.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I finally saw Gremlins 2 for the first time, when I decided to double feature both films. I still enjoy the first, but it's not that special. The second is a lot more fun, IMO! And you can probably guess what my favorite part was.

I agree completely. When I first watched the second one, I couldn't believe how overlooked and underrated it was. The first movie was a fun concept but ultimately hasn't aged that well, IMO (much like other early 80's Joe Dante films, if I'm to be honest). However, Dante was allowed to run wild with creativity for the second movie, with the Looney Tunes cold opening to the Christopher Lee and Hulk Hogan cameos to all of the various different types of Gremlins in the film, each in their own right having their designs, personality, and actions crammed full of references to other movies and inspirations for Dante. This movie really felt like a passion-project for the director, through-and-through, and it really shows how much fun he and others had making it, and that fun translates really well on the screen. Gremlins 2 is hands down one of my favorite comedies of the 90's or otherwise.