What was the last movie you watched? (2022 edition)

[Steven P. Administrators]

Batman (1989)

 

It held up well, and I forgot how stunningly beautiful Kim Basinger is 😍

[McCordRm]

The Batman (2022)
7/10

 

 It had some issues: too long (mostly due to lingering camera shots), WOKE commentary on "The evil of rich, old, white men", and like any superhero movie, you have to "go along for the ride" in some cases-- like certain people not taking the opportunity to figure out his identity, etc. 

 

But that being said, I really like the direction they took with both the film and the character. It felt like China Town (old detective flick with Jack Nicholson). Gotham was dirty and corrupt, and the two films felt very similar. And when it comes to that similarity... not everyone is down for that type of slow storytelling. If that's you, you'll probably hate this movie.

 

As for the Batman character, this movie clearly takes place after he's come home from his combat training (which is why he kicks ass in combat), but VERY early on with his crime-fighting career. This is a Batman fresh out of the Academy: a rookie superhero and fledgling detective, trying to do the right thing in a very bad city. He's still working on his Batman reputation, while his alter-ego --Bruce Wayne-- is practically non-existent. He's spending so much time as Batman that he hasn't developed Bruce Wayne, and thus hasn't learned to balance the two personas. His Batcave is still a work in progress, and while he has spent some money on gadgets, his detective skills are obviously lacking.

 

Overall, I was really impressed.  I'm hoping the series continues and we get to see him develop into the seasoned, "World's Greatest Detective" from the comics. It could be a really fun ride. I strongly suggest giving it a watch if you can handle the China Town storytelling, if just for the fact that it's not a run-of-the-mill action flick where the Hero is capable of anything and never fails. 

Edited April 20, 2022 by McCordRm

[margrave]

The Batman

 

Suffers from poor editing. Didn't need to be THAT long.

[George P Global Moderator]

On 20/04/2022 at 13:15, McCordRm said:

The Batman (2022)
7/10

 

 It had some issues: too long (mostly due to lingering camera shots), WOKE commentary on "The evil of rich, old, white men", and like any superhero movie, you have to "go along for the ride" in some cases-- like certain people not taking the opportunity to figure out his identity, etc. 

 

But that being said, I really like the direction they took with both the film and the character. It felt like China Town (old detective flick with Jack Nicholson). Gotham was dirty and corrupt, and the two films felt very similar. And when it comes to that similarity... not everyone is down for that type of slow storytelling. If that's you, you'll probably hate this movie.

 

As for the Batman character, this movie clearly takes place after he's come home from his combat training (which is why he kicks ass in combat), but VERY early on with his crime-fighting career. This is a Batman fresh out of the Academy: a rookie superhero and fledgling detective, trying to do the right thing in a very bad city. He's still working on his Batman reputation, while his alter-ego --Bruce Wayne-- is practically non-existent. He's spending so much time as Batman that he hasn't developed Bruce Wayne, and thus hasn't learned to balance the two personas. His Batcave is still a work in progress, and while he has spent some money on gadgets, his detective skills are obviously lacking.

 

Overall, I was really impressed.  I'm hoping the series continues and we get to see him develop into the seasoned, "World's Greatest Detective" from the comics. It could be a really fun ride. I strongly suggest giving it a watch if you can handle the China Town storytelling, if just for the fact that it's not a run-of-the-mill action flick where the Hero is capable of anything and never fails. 

People like to use the word "woke" when talking about movies more and more it seems.  The fact you put it all in caps to is like, wow.    The narrative of "rich white men being corrupt" isn't anything new to the Batman lore.  You're talking about the crime families of Gotham which are basically a fictional representation of the Italian mafia, which are.... let me check.... full of white guys. 

 

 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

All these plot lines are pulled from pretty old comics, year one, long Halloween, hush, Ego.    You know how old these are?  

[McCordRm]

<Shrug> You've got your interpretation, and I've got mine.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

I watched The Batman the other day. Considering that I am a big fan of Christopher Nolan's trilogy I really didn't have high hopes for it, so I was pleasantly surprised!

 

I also saw The Lost City after a friend showed me the trailer and said that she wanted to go. If you haven't seen it, watch the trailer and then don't bother. All of the comedy is there, the rest is just generic shlock.

 

Finally, I just finished Uncharted. As a gamer, and knowing how games-to-film adapations normally play out, again I wasn't expecting much. But it was pretty decent. I also laughed at the scene when they come up on the beach and pass Nolan North (if you don't know, he is the voice actor for Nathan Drake in the games.) I would say it is worth a watch if you want to kill some time and feel like an Indiana Jones type film.

[McCordRm]

On 28/04/2022 at 04:30, Nick H. said:

I watched The Batman the other day. Considering that I am a big fan of Christopher Nolan's trilogy I really didn't have high hopes for it, so I was pleasantly surprised!

 

I also saw The Lost City after a friend showed me the trailer and said that she wanted to go. If you haven't seen it, watch the trailer and then don't bother. All of the comedy is there, the rest is just generic shlock.

 

Finally, I just finished Uncharted. As a gamer, and knowing how games-to-film adapations normally play out, again I wasn't expecting much. But it was pretty decent. I also laughed at the scene when they come up on the beach and pass Nolan North (if you don't know, he is the voice actor for Nathan Drake in the games.) I would say it is worth a watch if you want to kill some time and feel like an Indiana Jones type film.

Funny, I watched that last night. The CGI is getting out of hand at times, but overall I agree. It was a fun watch.

They definitely lean in hard on his "Spider-Man" gymnastics.

[restroom]

On 10/01/2022 at 10:01, Dick Montage said:

Nor should you.  It was dire, didn't capture any of the heart of the original and was a generic comedy with a franchise title.  It did all of the characters a disservice and played upon really crass stereotypes.

 

And Sony realised this.  They tempted to firefight with the "You don't like it because you can't stand strong female leads" argument.

Yeah, tends to be the thing to do now days. "You disagree with us, then you are xxic or xxxist" etc. Its really sad people cant feel free to say how they feel without being branded as a terrible person by someone else.

[Dick Montage]

On 28/04/2022 at 11:58, restroom said:

Yeah, tends to be the thing to do now days. "You disagree with us, then you are xxic or xxxist" etc. Its really sad people cant feel free to say how they feel without being branded as a terrible person by someone else.

We are going off topic, but I don't agree.  I feel that there have been a number of instances of this that have been quite high profile - specifically the crappy reboot GhostBusters where Sony were very obviously using this tactic to defend a poor film (which in another time and place, I can detail quite how the film itself was a lot more racially troubling than the original).  But this whole "You can't say XXX for fear of being branded YYY" is a self-pitying tactic that I don't hold with - I say what I want, in and informed and empathic way, and nobody has ever stopped me".

The only person who ever called me "racist" (for example) was met with "OK, that's your opinion, and it means nothing to me - feel free to keep saying it, I have no care to stop you", and as such, it didn't stick.  And let's be clear, I made a joke that played upon problematic stereotypes - which were based around race - but still doesn't make me racist.

[Steven P. Administrators]

 

The Batman was too long. It also appeared to lean heavily on the grunge genre (Nirvana is featured immediately at the beginning of the film) It has been a while since I've seen The Crow, but that's what it reminded me more of, and that was done almost thirty years ago in the actual nineties 😛 (btw The Crow has been on my rewatch list for quite a while, for when I get around to it).

 

It wasn't bad, it's not up there with the greatest either I don't think.

 

Stevie rating: 7/10

IMDB: 8.1 /  Rotten Tomatoes: 86% (Audience score: 89%) ah well, that shows what I know 😂

[restroom]

On 28/04/2022 at 13:23, Dick Montage said:

We are going off topic, but I don't agree.  I feel that there have been a number of instances of this that have been quite high profile - specifically the crappy reboot GhostBusters where Sony were very obviously using this tactic to defend a poor film (which in another time and place, I can detail quite how the film itself was a lot more racially troubling than the original).  But this whole "You can't say XXX for fear of being branded YYY" is a self-pitying tactic that I don't hold with - I say what I want, in and informed and empathic way, and nobody has ever stopped me".

The only person who ever called me "racist" (for example) was met with "OK, that's your opinion, and it means nothing to me - feel free to keep saying it, I have no care to stop you", and as such, it didn't stick.  And let's be clear, I made a joke that played upon problematic stereotypes - which were based around race - but still doesn't make me racist.

I think you disagreed with me, then proceeded to agree with me with evidence?  But yes, we are off topic now.

 

On 28/04/2022 at 15:55, Steven P. said:

 

The Batman was too long. It also appeared to lean heavily on the grunge genre (Nirvana is featured immediately at the beginning of the film) It has been a while since I've seen The Crow, but that's what it reminded me more of, and that was done almost thirty years ago in the actual nineties 😛 (btw The Crow has been on my rewatch list for quite a while, for when I get around to it).

 

It wasn't bad, it's not up there with the greatest either I don't think.

 

Stevie rating: 7/10

IMDB: 8.1 /  Rotten Tomatoes: 86% (Audience score: 89%) ah well, that shows what I know 😂

I've never been a fan of the Batman franchise in general to be honest. Too many films done in different ways to put a different spin on things etc.  a bit like Spiderman, although the latest Spiderman was pretty good IMO.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

On 28/04/2022 at 16:55, Steven P. said:

It has been a while since I've seen The Crow, but that's what it reminded me more of, and that was done almost thirty years ago in the actual nineties 😛 (btw The Crow has been on my rewatch list for quite a while, for when I get around to it).

I rewatched it recently...all I will say is that nostalgia can be a #####. It's not as good as I remember, it really leaned into the 90's emo scene. Michael Wincott was still pretty cool though.

[restroom]

On 28/04/2022 at 17:33, Nick H. said:

I rewatched it recently...all I will say is that nostalgia can be a #####. It's not as good as I remember, it really leaned into the 90's emo scene. Michael Wincott was still pretty cool though.

Yeah, i rewatched Lost Boys recently. I remember it being something much better as a kid, but, whilst i still enjoyed watching it again, it wasn't as good as i remember. I think as you get older your tastes change, you get more used to the latest acting styles and special effects etc. so going back to older films never feels as magical as they did back in the day.

 

Even watching films from the ninties now feels like they are old, yet it feels like the films only came out yesterday to me!

[McCordRm]

I understand that, completely.

Man, I went back and watched Airwolf-- one of the TV Shows where you spend the entire show waiting for the Hero Moment (in this case, the

badass helicopter) which was only on-screen for like 5 minutes. lol   But going back and watching it as an adult, I realize that I didn't fully

understand how serious the show was. I remember it as a campy helicopter show.

[+E.Worm Jimmy Subscriber¹]

On 29/04/2022 at 05:49, restroom said:

Yeah, i rewatched Lost Boys recently. I remember it being something much better as a kid, but, whilst i still enjoyed watching it again, it wasn't as good as i remember. I think as you get older your tastes change, you get more used to the latest acting styles and special effects etc. so going back to older films never feels as magical as they did back in the day.

 

Even watching films from the ninties now feels like they are old, yet it feels like the films only came out yesterday to me!

I wanted Devil's Advocate and I found it better then most movies that come out now.

 

Yes - a but of horrible CGI but everything else was amazing.

 

I will now watch more famous movies I missed from actors I like.

 

To be honest I don't think I saw the Godfather!

 

I dismissed it as too old but I think now that I am past 40 myself I am sure I can relate to it more. I tried it when I was 15 and it did not sit well. 

 

 

 

 

[restroom]

On 29/04/2022 at 16:30, E.Worm Jimmy said:

I wanted Devil's Advocate and I found it better then most movies that come out now.

 

Yes - a but of horrible CGI but everything else was amazing.

 

I will now watch more famous movies I missed from actors I like.

 

To be honest I don't think I saw the Godfather!

 

I dismissed it as too old but I think now that I am past 40 myself I am sure I can relate to it more. I tried it when I was 15 and it did not sit well. 

 

 

 

 

I LOVE he devils advocate. I still find that film stands the test of time. I watched the godfather series last year for the first time to see what all the hype was about and quite honestly i didnt get it. I mean it was watchable, but for me it just didnt do anything for some reason. I was a bit like Goodfellas, i like the start of the film then once he starts getting in to the drug game i switch off. I may be biased though as i prefer British gangster\hooligan films rather than mafia type ones.

[FloatingFatMan]

On 29/04/2022 at 10:49, restroom said:

Yeah, i rewatched Lost Boys recently. I remember it being something much better as a kid, but, whilst i still enjoyed watching it again, it wasn't as good as i remember. I think as you get older your tastes change, you get more used to the latest acting styles and special effects etc. so going back to older films never feels as magical as they did back in the day.

 

Even watching films from the ninties now feels like they are old, yet it feels like the films only came out yesterday to me!

This is very true, but it's not just personal age, it's the times that affect taste too.  There are many movies in the 80's that were hilarious in their time but are just cringe now... Revenge of the Nerds for example...

 

This is probably why I watch a lot of 50's/60's & 70's scifi.  A lot of that stuff has aged much better than 80's/90's/00's stuff, and though their visuals are lacking, the story telling is often superb.

[restroom]

On 02/05/2022 at 11:42, FloatingFatMan said:

This is very true, but it's not just personal age, it's the times that affect taste too.  There are many movies in the 80's that were hilarious in their time but are just cringe now... Revenge of the Nerds for example...

 

This is probably why I watch a lot of 50's/60's & 70's scifi.  A lot of that stuff has aged much better than 80's/90's/00's stuff, and though their visuals are lacking, the story telling is often superb.

Yeah, thats something i do miss from older movies is the story telling. Like you say, the affects where not great, so the acting and story had to be on top form. 

[+E.Worm Jimmy Subscriber¹]

Sonic 2.

 

Surprisingly fun. I was into Sonic 2+3 as a kid...  So some nostalgia there to see tails and knuckles.

 

However unexpected part was how gay the sonic and tales relationship is in the movie 🤣😮🤣

[George P Global Moderator]

Just saw X (2022), it's got that old school 70s horror feel to it, nothing fancy, just blood and guts.  

 

Spoiler

I have to hand it to the people doing the makeup, it took me a bit into the movie to realize the same actress plays the lead female AND the old lady at the farm.   They should get an award for that level of transformation. 

 

[George P Global Moderator]

Sonic 2.  It's more of the same, if you liked the first one you'll like the 2nd.  

 

Spoiler

Also setup for a 3rd movie at the end.

 

[+Warwagon MVC]

On 04/05/2022 at 15:19, George P said:

Just saw X (2022), it's got that old school 70s horror feel to it, nothing fancy, just blood and guts.  

 

  Hide contents

I have to hand it to the people doing the makeup, it took me a bit into the movie to realize the same actress plays the lead female AND the old lady at the farm.   They should get an award for that level of transformation. 

 

😮 .....DA F*K .....I didn't know that. No wonder I couldn't find the old lady on IMDB... they defiantly need an award for that.

[George P Global Moderator]

The Northman.   8/10.  Looks, direction, etc all top notch IMO.  It is a bit on the long side though, only negative I have for it.  

[George P Global Moderator]

Everything Everywhere At Once.   8/10, possibly 9/10 depending on how you feel about the family drama parts.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

Sharkbait. It's not going to win any awards, but you know what you're going to get. And it really played on my fear of the ocean, so points for that I guess.

 

And after a chat with some friends I ended up rewatching Bedazzled...good god, I felt like a teenager again.