What Movie Did You Just Watch

[Foggle]

That's disheartening to hear, as Baby Driver is one of my most anticipated films of the year. I'm still to see it, of course, but I'm going to temper my expectations when I do.

Keep in mind that almost everyone else seems to love it! Perhaps it just isn't my kind of film or my expectations were too high. It's a very different beast from the Cornetto trilogy which I love with all my heart. I've also been feeling a bit off today (had trouble getting into both my homework and playing Overwatch earlier) so maybe I would have liked it more under other circumstances. And I enjoyed the movie for sure, the only things I genuinely disliked about it were the lead actor and a couple of plot developments in the final act (including the ending). Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, and Jon Hamm were brilliant.

I agree with everything you said about John Wick! The Matrix is still awesome (my favorite action movie as a kid) but these films are even better. I love how simple the plots are despite how intricate the world-building is. I also love how the protagonist is built up as an all-star badass just by having the villains talk about how scary he is. I think I liked the original slightly more but both movies are perfect. I was in awe during every single action scene the first time I saw them. I can't wait for Chapter 3 either, and I can't believe one of the directors from the first film is doing Deadpool 2...

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I also prefer the first John Wick, but the sequel is no less brilliant in my eyes, and there's only one real issue that I have with it (which isn't even that big in the grand scheme of things), and that's just that I'm not a fan of cliffhanger endings to bait a sequel. I would've bought a ticket to see John Wick 3 on day one without that added incentive. Even so, the sequel did not disappoint me in the slightest besides that, and I went in with high as fuck expectations!

Also, yeah, Deadpool 2: my next most anticipated film of ever....

[Foggle]

Also, yeah, Deadpool 2: my next most anticipated film of ever....

Same director also has a film called Atomic Blonde coming out next month, which I've heard really good things about from festival reviews. Action cinema is alive and well!

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, I just saw Baby Driver. I can certainly respect Foggle's outlook on it, but personally I'm going to have to go with the masses on this one: I fucking loved it! It's my third favorite movie of the year so far right behind John Wick Chapter 2 and Logan.

Also, maybe it's because I never saw any of the shitty Maze Runner movies nor anything else he's been in, and thus didn't have any pre-conceived opinions of the guy, but I personally didn't have a problem with Ansel Elgort in this movie. He wasn't necessarily that good, in that I could imagine other people in that same role, but nothing he did in his performance outright turned me off from his portrayal of the lead character, either. To me, he was the textbook example of "just fine," which admittedly is a bit of a disappointment for an Edgar Wright film, but I felt that the direction did a good job of making up for his lacking qualities as an actor (not unlike how the directing makes Keeanu look better than he actually is in the John Wick films).

And as for Wright's writing suffering due to a lack of Simon Pegg, I don't know if I can quite agree with that. While I do largely prefer the Cornetto Trilogy to this (not a slight against Baby Driver; those films are just Godly), the important distinction here is that those are comedies, while this is a straight up action movie with more serious drama, tension, and stakes. Pegg is absolutely brilliant at comedy. Star Trek Beyond showcased that he is a capable writer when it comes to more serious stories, but comparing that directly to Baby Driver, I'd say that Wright was the stronger dramatic writer in this particular case.

Anyways, as I stated, I can totally get where Foggle is coming from. I'm only really trying to justify why my perception of the film and its quality (or lack thereof) is more positive.

[Foggle]

My perception of Elgort was probably colored by past roles, true. I just found him to be a bit grating in the film. That said, I need to watch Baby Driver again sometime. I think I wasn't in the right state of mind to enjoy it last Sunday.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Saw Spider-Man: Homecoming this weekend. Tonally this film really reminds me of TSSM, which in my case is a very good thing.

Overall this is probably the best Spider-Man movie that we've had so far, and it's arguably one of the stronger stand-alone MCU films.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Yeah, got back from watching it. Was really fun and hit all the right spots. Vulture was a great departure from the typical MCU villain mold. Ned and Michelle were funny. Much less Tony Stark shilling than I expected, so that was pleasantly surprising.

Overall, this year's been great for superhero movies. Now to see if Thor 3 or Justice League will screw it up.

[Avaitor]

I feel like those are both possibilities, but I'm trying to remain hopeful. Moreso for Ragnarok, whose trailer still has me hyped, but I could see go either way. But I would like to believe that Wonder Woman is the right step forward for the DCEU.

And I really liked Homecoming. I'd call it my favorite Spider-Man film to date, as well as my current favorite Phase 3 film. It did hit all the right notes, and I particularly appreciate that this and Vol. 2 have cut back on the obnoxious foreshadowing, and focused on building the stories at hand first. I don't know if Thor and Black Panther will keep this trend going, though.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Oh yeah, I definitely got an SSM vibe from the movie. Also, I took a little schadenfreude from Ned just being Ganke in all but name, but because he's not called Ganke, Bendis won't be able to get any royalty checks from the film.

So I guess I'd rank it: Homecoming > Spider-Man 2 > Spider-Man 1 > Spider-Man 3 > 3 Dev Adam > Amazing Spider-Man > The Supaidaman movie > those episodes of the 70s show taped together to make made-for-TV movies, I haven't watched them, but I have no doubt they're better than... > Amazing Spider-Man 2

[gunswordfist]

Homecoming was amazing. I think I found it to be even more intense than Winter Soldier, which is possibly my favorite superhero movie. Also, the film was just so smoothly directed. I can't get over that. And Tom Holland is easily the best Spider-Man. Definitely not dry like Tobey and even more fun than Garfield, while getting the serious side of Spider-Man down

Yeah, got back from watching it. Was really fun and hit all the right spots. Vulture was a great departure from the typical MCU villain mold. Ned and Michelle were funny. Much less Tony Stark shilling than I expected, so that was pleasantly surprising.

Overall, this year's been great for superhero movies. Now to see if Thor 3 or Justice League will screw it up.

Vulture was a decent villain, which was much better than I expected since a Birdman villain sounded so lame to me. He would have been much better if I got to actually sympathize with him a bit, like they were trying to go for but he was a dick for a lot of the movie.
Hopefully Thor Ragnarok is not disappointing, unlike the first two Thor movies. I'd like a Thor film that's not just decent at best.

[Avaitor]

I'm still playing catch-up with 2016. I really did not like Midnight Special- felt too much like Close Encounters lite, which I guess goes up there with Stranger Things as to why I'm not impressed with Spielberg worship. Toni Erdmann, meanwhile, might be my favorite from the year. The director states that it's not a comedy, and while I can buy it as a straight family drama, it's too damn funny to not appreciate its dry charm. It definitely has the funniest nude scene I can recall.

The Red Turtle and Swiss Army Man should be on their way soon, as well. And I do also plan to get to The Witch and The Boy and the Beast soon.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Swiss Army Man is a VERY strange kind of film. Definitely not for everyone. It is one of those movies that I'm glad to have experienced, but will also probably never re-watch.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Just saw War for the Planet of the Apes. A few months ago I said that I doubted that anything could top Logan as my favorite movie of the year, and I seriously meant that. While I still need to process it, this film may have just slightly edged it out for me (and yes, I fucking love Logan, so that speaks volumes about this movie in my eyes). It really hit me on a personal and emotional level, and it's definitely the best possible conclusion to what I now genuinely consider to be one of the best film trilogies of all time.

This goes beyond just being a great summer blockbuster for me. It's a legitimately terrific piece of cinema.

[Kiddington]

I feel like the only person on Earth that didn't hate Spectre -- just now finally got around to watching it the other day.

I didn't say I liked it, but there are worse Bonds.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Yeah, it's not a bad film at all, but a lot of people expected another Skyfall since it was directed and written by the same guys, and Christoph Waltz as a Bond villain sounded hype. And that thing where they tried to tie all the other Craig movies together into Oberhauser's master plan was haphazard, especially when the last film strongly implied Bond went on a ton of other missions between Quantum and Skyfall, as he goes from this new, doesn't know all the ropes yet James Bond to a grizzled, should-have-been retired by M one in the span of 2 films.