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Pear

Strata Poster
Isle of Dogs

Very good animated movie. The sets and animation quality were off the charts. Great script and I liked that the characters spoke Japanese and it was translated through other characters. Probably one of my all time favorite animated movies.

This movie is really worth watching it's a very enjoyable experience.
 

Pokemaniac

Mountain monkey
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Pacific Rim: We're making it a franchise

A friend and I decided to watch this after eating dinner with colleagues practically next to the cinema. The first film was good fun, if a little dumb, and we figured that this would be more of the same. I guess it turned out to be just that. The war is over, humanity won despite losing all its giant robots, and the giant monsters are no more. But... why are there still so many giant robots around? They're not exactly useful or practical, and it's never explained in the film.

This film was a lot more upfront with the names and characteristics of both the giant monsters and the giant robots. As an example, a character randomly blurts out "That's Firstname Lastname, and it's the fastest robot in the fleet!" or something to that effect multiple times in the middle of a scene, and I can only picture a pop-up banner with the word "buy action figure here!" appearing when the movie makes it to Netflix.

My biggest gripe with the movie was that they did not manage to capture the same sense of scale as in the previous film. Pacific Rim managed to make it look like the robots were gigantic and heavy. When a robot pulled a rocket-powered punch, you could almost feel the powerful rockets working to accelerate thousands of tons of steel. Rain and seafoam cascaded off the giant robots, and their movements were slow and sluggish, further reinforcing the impression of great size and weight. In the sequel, the robots move like people in suits. Quick movements, sudden acceleration and deceleration, fast punches that send other monsters or robots flying without discernible recoil. The grandness was missing from a lot of scenes, like the background was scaled down instead of the robots scaled up. The way everything moved really broke the suspension of disbelief.

The film also breaks its own logic on many occasions. We're told that the final fight is all about preventing the giant monsters from reaching a certain place. Yet the monsters clearly stay behind to fight the heroes some more after pressing them to retreat. Why not just make a beeline for the destination while the robots regroup? Especially so when the monsters are shown to burrow quickly underground, but only use it to attack the heroes from behind instead of just digging their way to the goal with the heroes none the wiser.

One scene really sums up the logic of the movie: The heroes are told that something shady may be going on at a supposedly abandoned facility on an island off the north coast of Russia. One of them says: "We should investigate that - let's send one of the giant robots and have a look". Clearly, the writers decided that this film universe can't have any problems where the solution doesn't involve a giant robot. Thus, they ship an extremely large, slow-moving, noisy, visible and heavily armed robot halfway across the globe for a short reconnaissance mission, rather than a fast and stealthy drone that could be there and back in a day without any eventual enemies noticing anything. Giant robots are always the solution, and when the giant robots are unavailable the world is doomed because there are no other options. Oh, and ranged attacks are ineffective by default. All combat moves with longer reach than a sword will only tickle the opponent.

All in all, it was enjoyable, though. Watching giant robots punching giant monsters in the middle of a city. Or human-sized robots punching human-sized monsters in a toy city, as it turns out. Still didn't feel like a waste of time, but I won't be rushing to see it again. 2/3.
 

tomahawk

Strata Poster
Alright, moviepass strikes again so here are my latest views...

Ready Player One

I enjoyed this. It was far from great, but it was one of the better movies of the year so far, which isn't saying much from what I've seen.

Rampage

Such a mindless movie. I mean it was awful. I did laugh my ass off at one scene, but not because it was funny, but just bad.

Super Troopers 2

I have been waiting for this ****ing movie my entire adult life. When it was a pipedream, I waited eagerly. I watched every update and non story for it. Well, its opening day and I had to go. I reserved my tickets early this morning and was like a kid in a candy store all day. Then I got home and shortly after was on my way to the theater.

This. ****ing. Movie. This is what fans deserve in a long awaited sequel. Or crowd funded ruined. This was a true sequel that took the best of the original, and then built on that. It made fun of itself and was utterly fantastic. I'll be seeing it again at least once, if not twice. I ****ing loved it.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 

gavin

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Social Media Team
Avengers: Infinity War

Boring, predictable, boring, predictable, bad dialogue, predictable, what's with all the facial hair, boring, CGI, smashy smashy, predictable, smashy smashy, bad dialogue, predictable, too many characters, smashy smashy, should have finished half an hour ago, CGI, smashy smashy...

Oh, ok that's different. Audience leave in shock.
 

Will

Strata Poster
smashysmashy.gif
 

peep

CF Legend
Avengers Infinity War - Well I loved it, I think they did a great job at juggling so many characters and the action was fantastic. After re-watching Civil War the other day I forgot how choppy and frantic the camera work was in the action scenes, loved that we got none of that here (maybe a little choppy in places), the action scenes were much easier to follow and the camera work didn't make me want to hurl so all good.

I saw it in IMAX 3D (proper IMAX too, none of that silly lieMax), it was great, however there was the occasional moment where there was the top of someone's head in frame at the bottom but someone in the auditorium walked up the stairs next to me, proper made my brain freak out as it looked like something was coming at me from this static head - so that was interesting. Audience was great though, lots of loud reactions (but not so much that it was annoying) and everyone sat still through the whole credits <3


I don't want to say too much in case I spoil something but if you've enjoyed the previous 18 films this is easily worthy of your time.
 

Edward M

Strata Poster
When will superhero fatigue finally set in?

Infinity War
- Wtf was that? I don't care about any Marvel characters except for the Guardians of the Galaxy and Wakandans, but the way in which this was done was just, too much. There was so much plot to move forward that every character arc seemed to be quickly and violently thrown at the audience. Most choices made here really baffled me and not in a good way. I actually thought Thanos was an interesting villain with a character, and his actions always had consequences. I loved Gamora in this, as her character is expanded further. However, the rest of the GotG seem mostly left behind for other characters, and Starlord was just... off. The rest of the cast doesn't really have any time to be focused on because everyone needs to have a role here. The action was by far the worst aspect of the film for me, horribly horribly boring.


Ya, it's not awful really, and I liked the struggles the characters went through. It was just overall kind of irritating though. The first half was interesting, but that second half was way too long. Overall, a big bowl of ok for me.
 

ThomVD

Giga Poster
I'll never understand the popularity of Marvel. A few exceptions aside (Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men), it's so mindnumbingly boring and cliché. The humour is forced, they're way too long and the action has nothing at stake, making it very pointless and dull. I'm not going to watch this Avengers film but seeing it in the top 10 on IMDb made me cringe.

With that said, I watched A Quiet Place the other day and loved it. Very tense! One of the better horror films I've seen in a while. Thankfully the theatre was almost empty so no noise issues for me. I found myself being so immersed that I was holding my breath for extended periods of time :p
 

Hutch

Strata Poster
Avengers: Infinity War

Yeah I loved it. I remember thinking Avengers 1 was a big deal when it came out, putting 5 or 6 heroes together, but this is just insane. It's really impressive how they've managed to handle all these characters in a single movie, and I felt like they did a great job. Sure, a handful of characters didn't get as much screen time or character development as others. But I'd say most of the cast/groups had enough focus, and I think they did a nice job shifting between different scenes/groups at the right moment. Thanos is a great villain. His motivations and reasons are interesting but his actions still make you want to hate him. There was a sense of hopelessness too, which is something that I think other MCU movies really lack. Not sure why others find the action boring... some of the sequences are fantastic, especially that one on Titan.

Definitely gonna see it again. Would like to take my dad to see it. I'm interested to see what he thinks of it, coming from someone who's barely seen any of the MCU.
 

Howie

Donkey in a hat
Avengers: Infinity War

Not bad. Several entertaining 'moments', some great interaction between the characters, plenty of humour etc..
The ego-clash between Stark and Strange is a joy, Tom Holland as Spidey is as endearing as ever and Thor has lots of fun clashing with the Guardians. Thanos is fairly interesting too.
Overall though it's a bit of a mess. Too many characters, too many other-worldly locations, too many genres of movie all thrown into one mix. It's all spread too thinly, virtually everyone and everything is underused.
Surprisingly though, what let's it down the most are the big, CGI smashy smashy bits. As big and smashy smashy as they are, they're just not very involving. We've had 19 movies of this sh*t, with the levels of chaos and destruction getting bigger and bigger each time, and yet every one of the Avengers and their associates are still walking around virtually unscathed. There's no real sense of danger. We all know that, as long as the box office receipts are still coming in, these people and the universe they live in will just go on and on and on.
You know what I mean? When characters can hurl moons at each other - yes, actual moons, and walk away at the end with barely a limp, it's just hard to care any more.
Time to change the formula, Mr Feige.
 

Snoo

The Legend
It's tough going into Infinity War thinking you'll get full fledged everything for everyone. There is just too much to cover and not enough time. I went in with a "all the other films before it set this up" mentality and I felt as if it covered what you needed. And to be honest, this is Thanos' movie. And I think he was a great villain. It's not the best movie in the MCU but a worth addition to "good but not great" category for me.
 

furie

SBOPD
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
So... Infinity War

What nonsense. To be fair, it was the best Avengers film, but that bar was really low. As Snoo says, this is a Thanos film, so I think it's worth looking at from his point of view.

So Thanos is a great character. He's got the most depth out of all of the characters in the film. He's like an onion, he makes me cry (I assume I was watching it right @TommyAlex ?)

The film is his story of trying to save the universe from itself. To do this, he takes himself on several quests to prove himself worthy. He must overcome spiritual, mental and physical anguish to achieve his ultimate goal. Okay, there's a bit of collateral damage, but... THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT CIVIL WAR AS ALL A-BLOODY-BOUT. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few - did these people learn nothing from Star Trek?

Such an upbeat ending with Thanos winning against the odds. Great end to the whole franchise and I look forward to many years of no more Marvel films, because, you know, spoiler stuff.

What? Wait? There are more films already announced and in production? But... that would mean there is no threat to any character in those films, that could ruin the entire film!!! But it doesn't, because Thanos is quite a nice guy after all and he gets the heroic ending he deserves. I'm sure that the "Titan Accords" will sort him out if he steps out of line...

See, as a Thanos as the hero film, it's actually really good, but a bit smashy smashy...

As an Avengers film, it's the best of a bad bunch.

Rabbit - LOL
 

mouse

Giga Poster
Just seen A Quiet Place. Excellent film with a simple but very effective premise, and a very engaging plot. The suspense was sustained throughout the whole film, interrupted by occassional moments of light relief and jump scares. Some excrutiatingly tense scenes, as well as some surprisingly emotional moments. Go watch it!
 

gavin

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Social Media Team
Love, Simon

I wasn't going to bother - honestly not interested in yet another "coming out" film that all the homos automatically label as "amazing" or "important" just because there's a gay theme - but it was actually really good. It really wasn't the usual tired old "Oh, it's so difficult to be gay; everyone hates me" bollocks. The whole background was of a generally accepting, forward-thinking family/school/society and someone just not knowing the best way to go about telling people, or whether it's really necessary at all rather than being scared about it and the usual homophobia storyline that goes with that. It's pretty funny in places as well.

May

I thought this was quite new since I'd never heard of it, but turns out it's around 16 years old. It's kind of just a slasher movie at the end of the day, but it's genuinely really creepy and atmospheric, with some excellent performances. It's a bit slow to get going, but I think it's better for it. Anyway, easily one of the better horrors I've seen in a long while.
 

gavin

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Social Media Team
Deadpool 2

Worth a watch, but very much a case of more of the same. Had its moments, but I think people like to pretend that they find a lot of the jokes funnier than they actually are just to prove they get the references.
 

peep

CF Legend
Also saw Deadpool 2 yesterday. I enjoyed it, especially the title sequence. I think I prefer the first film, the story just worked a bit better, this film felt like a lot of things happened but I don't think they quite worked together? Some of the action scenes felt a bit too choppy and unfocused which was slightly annoying. It's very funny at times though and they somehow managed to up the gore and violence.

Note: There are two credit scenes before the roll credits and nothing at the very end.
 
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