Re: Seen any good films lately? [3]

by Forest Shepherd Mon Feb 20, 2017 6:06 pm

halfwise wrote:Those look great - all but the last one seem uncontaminated by direct western involvement.

by halfwise Mon Feb 20, 2017 7:38 pm

Sorry, but the Chinese just make better films. Visually stunning, without all our tired plotting tropes (they've got their own, I'm sure, but I'm not tired of them yet.) Unfortunately we only get to see a fraction of their output.

by malickfan Tue Feb 21, 2017 9:18 pm

Pettytyrant101 wrote:{{Thats an excellent film Forest- I loved it though it is pretty black in its humour }}}

Four Lions is fantastic, first thing I saw Bendymick Cucumbersnatcher in.

by Eldorion Mon Feb 27, 2017 5:38 am

Watched John Wick 2 with my dad, aunt, and uncle while on vacation up here in NY. I thought it was kinda meh; the action was good but it got pretty repetitive after a while. There wasn't much of a story and very little about the setting made sense. I think that might have been intentional to some degree though since it did create some humorous moments. My aunt and uncle, who had actually seen the first one, were really disappointed and thought this didn't live up to it at all. I recall having heard great things on forums about the first film when it came out but a lot of those same people seemed to like the second too so IDK. Shrugging

by Forest Shepherd Mon Feb 27, 2017 6:46 am

halfwise wrote:Sorry, but the Chinese just make better films. Visually stunning, without all our tired plotting tropes (they've got their own, I'm sure, but I'm not tired of them yet.) Unfortunately we only get to see a fraction of their output.

The fraction of Chinese films that you get to see are the ones that stand out as not sucking or simply being a re-hash of tired old stories.

I just looked up 2016 Chinese movies. You have the usual coming of age story with Suddenly Seventeen, a film called Phantom of the Theatre that apparently was written by someone who watched Phantom of the Opera and wanted more ghosts, a crime action shoot-em-up film called Operation Mekong, a story about four guys who go From Vegas to Macau III (now where have I seen that before?...), a buddy cop comedy in Skiptrace (Jackie Chan, Johnny Knoxville), a shitty historical-fantasy epic in The Great Wall, long-distance romance in Finding Mr. Right 2, the romantic comedy My Sassy New Girl, etc.

And sure, there's quite a smattering of fantasy epics in there: League of Gods, A Chinese Oddyssey part 3, The Monkey King 2, The Mermaid, etc.

But apart from the relatively rare crossover success like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or The House of Flying Daggers there is just as much mediocrity being pandered to the masses over in China as here in Western countries. So I call bullshit on the idea that Chinese scriptwriters have some magical source of endlessly new and refreshing plots and twists.

Perhaps it is a westerner's unfamiliarity with Chinese folk-lore that gives some of these films a special lustre. Shrugging

by Forest Shepherd Mon Feb 27, 2017 7:11 am

Eldorion wrote:Watched John Wick 2 with my dad, aunt, and uncle while on vacation up here in NY. I thought it was kinda meh; the action was good but it got pretty repetitive after a while. There wasn't much of a story and very little about the setting made sense. I think that might have been intentional to some degree though since it did create some humorous moments. My aunt and uncle, who had actually seen the first one, were really disappointed and thought this didn't live up to it at all. I recall having heard great things on forums about the first film when it came out but a lot of those same people seemed to like the second too so IDK.

Man I don't know about those movies. I watched the first one and although I thought the movie had the good sense to develop some character early on, the whole thing turned into one big blood-bath. One of my main thoughts was, "When did it become okay to make a movie about some guy practically executing hundreds of other people?" I mean, the gratuitous and incredibly efficient way in which John Wick offs "bad guys" unsettled me greatly.

I thought the first film was over-rated gun-filled murder-porn.

by chris63 Sat Mar 11, 2017 10:35 am

Went to see kong, Scull island. Not bad, would give it a 7 out of 10.

Saw Star Treks lateast on blu-ray, enjoyed it. Best of the 3 movies for me.

Watched Inferno with Tom Hanks. Was alright. Give it a 6.

by Forest Shepherd Sat Mar 11, 2017 4:33 pm

I liked Star Trek too, it was pretty good! One of my main complaints though is that the

Spoiler:

by halfwise Sat Mar 11, 2017 5:35 pm

Sure, being Chinese doesn't automatically make them great, but I stick to my claim that stylistically we've got nothing to compare to the likes of House of Flying Daggers, or Hero, etc. Films like The Matrix cribbed their style from the Asian films.

The best of Film Noire and golden age Westerns were stylistic peaks, but recently it feels to me like even the best Hollywood films fail in one way or another compared to the best Asian films. Only the BBC nature series are comparable. Many films have undeniable style, but not jaw-dropping style.

Forest Shepherd wrote:
halfwise wrote:Sorry, but the Chinese just make better films. Visually stunning, without all our tired plotting tropes (they've got their own, I'm sure, but I'm not tired of them yet.) Unfortunately we only get to see a fraction of their output.

The fraction of Chinese films that you get to see are the ones that stand out as not sucking or simply being a re-hash of tired old stories.

I just looked up 2016 Chinese movies. You have the usual coming of age story with Suddenly Seventeen, a film called Phantom of the Theatre that apparently was written by someone who watched Phantom of the Opera and wanted more ghosts, a crime action shoot-em-up film called Operation Mekong, a story about four guys who go From Vegas to Macau III (now where have I seen that before?...), a buddy cop comedy in Skiptrace (Jackie Chan, Johnny Knoxville), a shitty historical-fantasy epic in The Great Wall, long-distance romance in Finding Mr. Right 2, the romantic comedy My Sassy New Girl, etc.

And sure, there's quite a smattering of fantasy epics in there: League of Gods, A Chinese Oddyssey part 3, The Monkey King 2, The Mermaid, etc.

But apart from the relatively rare crossover success like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or The House of Flying Daggers there is just as much mediocrity being pandered to the masses over in China as here in Western countries. So I call bullshit on the idea that Chinese scriptwriters have some magical source of endlessly new and refreshing plots and twists.

Perhaps it is a westerner's unfamiliarity with Chinese folk-lore that gives some of these films a special lustre.

by azriel Sat Mar 18, 2017 9:26 am

I was sifting thru some old films yesterday & I can quite see how my poor old mum loved watching Danny Kaye films Smile

He was so funny & you cant help laughing. This cracked me up, he nearly loses his strides near the end ! Smile

by Forest Shepherd Sun Mar 19, 2017 1:42 am

He's really rocking those low-crotch tights. That's an actual style now-a-days apparently.

Seen any good films lately? [3] - Page 13 Drop-crotch-pants-athletic-style

Seen any good films lately? [3] - Page 13 Drop-crotch-pants-athletic-style

by halfwise Sun Mar 19, 2017 2:01 am

It's better than having the crotch that low because the waistband is dangling around your gonads. The day sagging pants go out of style I'll crack a bottle of bubbly.

by halfwise Tue Mar 21, 2017 1:20 am

20 Feet from Stardom. It's a documentary about backup singers, nearly exclusively black women; young in their heyday but now middle aged and a force to be reckoned with. Brought up on gospel and blues, these women had unmatched musicality that groups like Sting, Springsteen and the Rolling Stones latched onto to create their sound. These big-name stars clearly remain in awe of these vocalists, who have didn't have the ego to propel them to the front of the stage; they just wanted to sing.

So now they are looking back on their youth, and anyone who knows a black mama knows they have personality, intellect and charisma that can command a room full of magnates and Caesers. Beautifully filmed, far more entertaining than I expected, especially if you love soulful music.

by Mrs Figg Tue Mar 21, 2017 1:58 am

love Danny Kaye I love you

by chris63 Thu Mar 30, 2017 4:35 am

Just seen this trailer, but its 4 years old. Did anyone see it ?

by chris63 Thu Mar 30, 2017 4:58 am

Not seen this either, but reminds me of a movie we've all seen Rolling Eyes

by azriel Thu Mar 30, 2017 10:54 am

I think the trouble now is that LOTRs has set a bench mark & every film is compared to it. If I had not seen LOTRs ( or the Hobbshit, for which I'm still suffering from ! ) I might have said there were good ideas there. I kinda like the "other worldly" films but, I cant watch without thinking....those Orcs were in LOTRs.....etc. Even lines spoken I think ...that came from LOTRs....I know Peejers screwed LOTRs a tad *cough cough* but nothing compared to what he did to the Hobbshit !! OMG ! I do still like watching LOTRs, its lovely to my eyes. I'm not going back on what Ive said. LOTRs is one of my favourite films. I like the music, the atmosphere, the dirty armour & sweaty horses ( even the Grey ones Smile

) The Hobbshit, well, burn the master tapes immediately !!

by halfwise Thu Mar 30, 2017 1:58 pm

chris63 wrote:Just seen this trailer, but its 4 years old. Did anyone see it ?

Looks great, but it appears that only a trailer was produced.

https://forums.3dtotal.com/showthread.php?p=960442

Too bad, at the risk of incurring Forrest's wrath I'd say the visuals were up to Chinese standards.

by Mrs Figg Thu Mar 30, 2017 8:16 pm

gimme GOT. Razz

by chris63 Thu Apr 13, 2017 4:41 am

Saw Fantastic Beasts. Good film, better than most Harry Potter films. The last 3 or 4 anyway :prof:

by Forest Shepherd Thu Apr 13, 2017 7:37 am

by Mrs Figg Thu Apr 13, 2017 7:43 pm

please tell me Yates is not doing Fantastic beasts 2. Mad

by Eldorion Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:00 pm

Yates is directing FB2 and Jude Law will be young Dumbledore.

by Mrs Figg Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:34 pm

dangnabbit!