What Movie Did You Just Watch

[Dr. Insomniac]

No one has any idea what's going on here.

But what it seems to be is that Kyle Reese is sent back in time to the events of The Terminator and at the beginning of the movie where he steals the clothes he is assaulted by these new terminators instead and saved by Sarah Connor. That's where the movie starts.

Here's a tip, if you can't sum up your story in a two minute trailer, then there's a good chance that your story makes no freaking sense.

But wait, if this happens at the same time as the first movie, why did they want a younger Sarah Connor played by a younger actress? Shouldn't she be the same age as she was in that movie?

Emilia Clarke is at the same age (28) as when Linda Hamilton first played Sarah Connor, so it checks out there.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I recently re-watched A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More.

I remember Foggle saying he hated the second movie, but I didn't remember enough about either at the time to comment. After having seen both again, my opinion is that the first film is great for its time but a bit too slow-paced and dragged out by today's standards. That doesn't mean that it still isn't a classic, but it certainly wouldn't be the first Leone film that I'd recommend to someone. Also, Yojimbo is a better version of this story, in all honesty. Then there's the second movie, which I honestly like a lot, myself. Leone shows improved directing skills here, and it's where his visual style and lack of overt exposition really stsrt to shine. The villain himself is clearly a terrible person, but still feels more nuanced than a typical Hollywood Western villain, and Lee Van Cleef is an excellent co-star to Clint Eastwood. Additionally, that ending duel was really good.

That said, both movies absolutely pale in comparison to the final and best film of the Dollars trilogy. That one is just a grand scale adventure with some of the most brilliant film-making of all time, IMO. It's still Leone's best work, IMO, and to me it's the greatest genre film of all time.

[gunswordfist]

I really need to rewatch Yojimbo.

[gunswordfist]

I watched Ip Man 2 early this morning. Whoa...the movie lacked plot. It felt like they were just setting up Ip Man 3. What I did like was Sammo Hung character and Leung. Leung's probably the best hardheaded kungfu student character I've seen in years. I hope they do much more with him in 3.

[talonmalon333]

After many years, today I finally got around to rewatching Titanic. I've been waiting for this to give my thoughts on it.

I think the biggest thing that makes the movie so good is the presentation of it. I'm referring to how it looks, and the soundtrack. Just the camerawork, for one, is great. And of course, the effects behind the whole sinking ship portion are fantastic. Cameron really used so many tricks there, rather than just all CGI, and learning about them is cool. The music of the movie is wonderful. James Horner was a very talented man, as we all know.

I think the relationship between Jack and Rose gets a little unnecessary heat. It's mushy, yes, and it's not the most compelling romance. But, you know... they are an adorable couple. Watching them together in the first half of the movie is fun, and I do legitimately care about them once the sinking occurs in the second half of movie. And, sure, "cute" isn't the best defense. But I'm not trying to call them the greatest love story of all time. As for the fact that they are fictional, that's true. But, well, adaptations always make up characters. Leo and Kate are good actors, and Jack and Rose are likable for what they are. I like Rose in particular. Cameron is good at writing his leading ladies and Rose is no exception. Even with the fictional characters, the movie does have people that were actually on the real Titanic (not the real people, but you know what I mean). And I really like the moments of the movie that are based on reality. I'm not just referring to the fact that the focus of the movie is a giant boat crashing into an iceberg. I mean little things that don't appear to mean much on their own, but are based on memories of real survivors.

I notice how some people are surprised that this is a Cameron movie. When you look at his list of films, with so much of the action genre in there, Titanic can stick out like a sore thumb a little but. But you can really see his love of action showing when the ship sinks, with all the running, smashing, punching, guns shooting, things blowing up, and even axes swinging.

My problem with the movie is how generic most of the supporting characters are. I'm also not sure the portions with Rose as an old lady are totally necessary (they also slightly weaken the part where Jack dies and the life boat seems to be passing by, which comes off as an especially sad moment if you don't already know Rose will make it out, but anyway). Despite the obvious flaws, I do like the movie a lot and I genuinely believe Cameron put a lot of heart into it, that he really wanted to make this.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Titanic is far from Cameron's best film, but I still find it very enjoyable for what it is. Much like Forrest Gump, I think that people love to shit on it a bit too much just because it won best picture. Were there superior films from that year? Certainly. And yeah the story and characters are formulaic to a degree, but there's much more to movies than just that, and the general presentation of the movie is masterful thanks to Cameron's expert film-making techniques.

[talonmalon333]

I agree. There are other Cameron movies that I like far more. And I'd say people's hatred of it goes even beyond it winning best picture, but also having to do with the fact that it is the highest grossing film of all time (until Avatar took that spot, of course). But I do legitimately like it a lot. It's very well made technically. And the story is indeed formulaic, but sometimes, I honestly am all for a simplistic story. Call it a guilty pleasure, but I do enjoy Rose and Jack's relatively sweet and innocent scenes together. Like I said before, I do think Cameron put a lot of heart into this movie. On the other hand, with Avatar, I just can't help but find it to be a kind of heartless movie that he made for some egotistical reason or something. Titanic certainly deserved to be the highest grossing film of all time over Avatar, and it still would be if the climate of movie watching (and ticket pricing) was the same as it was in 1997.

[talonmalon333]

That reminds me. Of the top ten highest grossing movies of all time, only two were made before 5-6 years ago (Titanic and Return of the King). And those two happen to be my favorites on the list.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Gone Girl and The Imitation Game.

I had the twist spoiled for me on the former way before the movie came out since my step-dad had read the book. It was still a good film, though.

I was really surprised to see Charles Dance in the latter. This guy was just born to play the cynical higher-up archetype role. As for the movie itself, I was really into it. I'm honestly not a big fan of docu-dramas as I find that they can get either too self-indulgent or too wrapped up in the historical aspect of things that they often forget to be an interesting movie, first and foremost. However, this was among the few that held my attention the entire way through.

Next up for me is Life Itself.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I just watched The Theory of Everything.

I have now seen every single Best Picture nominee from last year except for Boyhood.

[gunswordfist]

What are the best Dracula movies again?

[talonmalon333]

What are the best Dracula movies again?

The 1922 silent film and its 1979 remake. Those are my choices with very little comparison.

[gunswordfist]

I knew I could count on you. Also, what about Nosferatu?

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

The 1922 silent film that he mentioned IS Nosferatu, and the 1979 film is its remake.

Nosferatu is basically Dracula, but it's not called Dracula because the director of the original film couldn't get the rights to use the name.

[talonmalon333]

Yeah, sorry about that. Nosferatu is the movie I meant. As E-K said, it's basically the Dracula story with changed names since the character wasn't yet public domain, though most prints now just stick to the original Dracula names. The remake also uses the original names as well.

It's every bit deserving of its recognition as one of the masterpieces of the silent era. The remake is also amazing for its cinematography and the mood it creates, along with the direction it takes the character of Dracula. I really like some other Dracula movies, but I can't imagine myself putting them anywhere close to the Nosferatu movies.