The last movie you saw Thread

[Lalaith]

I did not like PJ's King Kong for the reasons yovi listed above (others' complaints, not his).

I do want to see Dr. Strange, Maria.


ETA: To clarify

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I mostly like PJ's King Kong, though I agree that it was blighted by bloat. But the relationship between Kong and Ann Darrow was tremendously well accomplished, with is no small feat.

[Alatar]

One man's "bloat and over indulgence" is another mans "majestic sweep". I'm sure plenty of people would find Ford's westerns or Kurosawa's films indulgent, and they are. Because they are examples of that director making himself happy first, not the critics or the suits. Now, I'm not claiming Jackson is Kurosawa, but at the end of the day, artists are their own critics. Nobody gets to tell Van Gogh that his paintings aren't realistic enough. Now, I know this can be taken to the extreme and then nobody gets to criticise anything, but PJ's Kong is objectively not a bad movie, therefore how much of the story he chooses to tell, and how long he chooses to linger over it becomes a matter of taste, which is subjective. Personally, I enjoy relaxing into PJs Kong. No other version of the movie is as enjoyable, for me.

[Lalaith]

Of course. I watched it a long time ago with some friends very late at night. We were slap-happy by the time we got 2/3 of the way through it. Honestly, all I really remember is the goofy (to me) sliding on the ice scene. I'd give it another go if I ever got in the mood, and I might evaluate it differently this time around.

Or I might not, but, obviously, you're free to think it's terrific.

[Alatar]

Honestly, all I really remember is the goofy (to me) sliding on the ice scene.

I thought that scene was beautiful and touching.

[Lalaith]

Would you have thought that at 3am and a couple glasses of wine?

[Alatar]

Its all about the company. Anything looks stupid if you have a couple of people laughing.

[Lalaith]

Then just call me stupid because it struck me as a goofy scene. Again, I might feel differently with another viewing, possibly alone, but I kind of doubt it.

To each his own!

ETA: Not that I think you're calling me stupid and neither do I think you're stupid for thinking it was a touching scene.

[Frelga]

How do you decide which movie is objectives bad?

Other than the Percy Jackson movie.

[yovargas]

A little corny, but I think it's a sweet moment.
But I could definitely see it coming off goofy at the end of a really long movie when it's too late and you've had some wine.

How do you decide which movie is objectives bad?

Easy - just ask yov.

[Alatar]

How do you decide which movie is objectives bad?

Other than the Percy Jackson movie.

I think basic issues like incoherency, plots that go nowhere, bad cinematography, poor dialogue can all create an objectively bad movie. Of course, bad movies can be entertaining, and great boring, so there's that angle as well. And yes, I believe a movie can be both objectively great and boring at the same time.

[Frelga]

Oh, I'm with you on that last!

So, if the movie has flawed craftsmanship made but still enjoyed by many people, can we call it bad?

I don't have a particular point, for the record, I'm just musing aloud. I've watched many movies where I said, "This is a mess and makes no sense, but darn is it fun." And isn't that the point?

[Alatar]

So, Logan.

The movie is rated R in the US, over 16's here. I took Conor and a group of his friends to see it last night. Its an adult movie. Not because of violence or sex. There is a lot of violence, including decapitations, but nothing feels gratuitous. There's nothing in Slo-mo, like Dredd. But it's an adult movie. The themes of loss and redemption, of impotence and guilt, are not subjects for kids. I think its a genuinely beautiful movie, and that Patrick Stewart would get an Oscar for his performance if it wasn't a "superhero" movie. Its a movie I will watch again and again. Go see it.

[Túrin Turambar]

I admit I couldn't sit through King Kong. I think it was just one monster chase too many that did it in for me, plus the fact that I found the characters kind of forgettable. So I suppose, for me, tight storytelling and bold characterisation counts for a lot when it comes to appreciating films (and books, for that matter).

[Lalaith]

I rewatched the scene. (Thanks, yovi!) Yep, it's still goofy to me or cheesy, if you prefer. I think it's the CGI that takes it into that context for me. Some of the CGI is very good and I'm in the story, and then, all of the sudden, there's a bit that is not. ("Oh, is King Kong holding a Barbie doll now?" <--Yes, my brain is jaded and sarcastic at times.) That move from believable to unbelievable is jarring to me, and that's it. I don't play video games, so I can't gloss over that stuff easily. It's the same sense I get with Legolas' shield surfing or oliphaunt surfing. Or some of the barrel work in Hobbit. My brain goes, "Ehhhhh, no." When it's integral to the story, my brain is more forgiving, I think, or doesn't notice it as much. But in these scenes that feel extra and more out of context (or overblown and overdone), then I'm not sold.

YMMV.

[Túrin Turambar]

Together they went back into the Burg; yet for some time Aragorn sat silent at the table in the hall, and the others waited for him to speak. 'Come!' said Legolas at last.... 'What has happened since we came back to this grim place in the grey morning?'

'A struggle somewhat grimmer for my part than the battle of the Hornburg,' answered Aragorn. 'I have watched the Star Wars Holiday Special, my friends.'

'You have looked in that accursed combination of the worst of Star Wars with the worst of seventies variety television!' exclaimed Gimli with fear and astonishment in his face. 'Did you sit through the entire – cooking scene? Even Gandalf feared that encounter.'

'You forget to whom you speak,' said Aragorn sternly.... 'Did I not attend midnight screenings of all three of the prequels? What do you fear that I should have seen? Nay, Gimli,' he said, looking like one who has laboured in sleepless pain for many nights. 'Nay, my friends, I have been a Star Wars fan from before the special editions of the Original Trilogy were released, and I had both the right and the strength to watch the Holiday Special, or so I judged. The right cannot be doubted. The strength was enough — barely.'

'It was a bitter struggle, and the weariness is slow to pass. I had to sit through the twenty minutes of incomprehensible unsubtitled Wookie dialogue, but in the end I was able to get a little bit of entertainment from the animated Boba Fett sequence. Harrison Ford clearly found it hard to endure. And I will not quickly forget seeing Carrie Fisher unwillingly singing the theme song at the end. That I found hard to endure.’

This XKCD cartoon is particularly appropriate.

[Lalaith]

I've never seen it. Sounds like I should. Or should not.

[Teremia]

I was on an ancient plane that still had (gasp) seat-back entertainment, and so, being tired, I did not grade the pile of papers I had with me, but instead watched Moana, A Monster Calls, and Rogue One. I enjoyed them all, despite the size of the screen. I loved the book that A Monster Calls is based on and had avoided the film IRL, but it turns out they had done quite a lovely job of it, keeping the sorrow and the darkness and integrating animation for the embedded stories. The child playing the boy was terrific. I sobbed and sobbed, which is awkward on a plane!

I enjoyed Moana and Rogue One, too.

Then this week I went to see the Emily Dickinson movie in a theater: A Quiet Passion. Cynthia Nixon was good, but I would have done the film differently. You didn't get much feeling for her inner world or the writing process. MORE EDITING! Perhaps more hallucinatory imagined poem-worlds! Not sure what to do, but what they did do wasn't quite weird enough for me, even though it clearly was aiming for weird.

[Maria]

Since we recently re-watched the Firefly series- the latest movie we've seen is Serenity.

[Frelga]

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is surprisingly excellent. It's visually gorgeous, fun all the way, and emotionally effective. Even if they relied a bit too much on defusing an emotional moment by characters being hopeless at emotions.

This may be my second or third favorite MCU movie.