The General Movie Thread

[DaveNarn]

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

A Disney animation mashup of Indiana Jones and Stargate Atlantis.

The story has a quick pace and is peppered with humor for kids and adults.
It didn't matter that the plot is thin and the elements don't quite fit

I rented Atlantis for the odd mix of the cast that was at their peak in 2001
Jim Varney and Leonard Nimoy?
That's like whipped cream and baloney.

Also James Garner, Phil Morris, Michael J. Fox, Don 'Father Quido Sarducci' Novello -

- and Claudia Christian as second in command!
She may be a animated as a blond but her lines are all Ivonova, especially when she addresses her boss James Garner as 'Commander'.

A nice rainy day family movie with a B5 connection_ It gets a B+

[Looney]

- and Claudia Christian as second in command!
She may be a animated as a blond but her lines are all Ivonova, especially when she addresses her boss James Garner as 'Commander'.

That alone makes it worth seeing. I enjoyed it as well.

[Looney]

Thought I would bring this thread back.

KONG: SKULL ISLAND (2017) ! ! ! ! ! ! !

I enjoyed it, but I wish I hadn't seen or heard anything about it.

I'm usually pretty good about staying away from trailers and spoilers if I have any interest in a title. I did see the first trailer, but I was okay with that and it was many months ago. With Kong: Skull Island the problem is that I heard way too many good things (headlines/comments) before I saw it. I try to drive down expectations for how good a movie is going to be so I am then pleasantly surprised if it is at all good. I heard positive things about Kong: Skull Island so I had some higher than normal expectations. This just meant I was slightly disappointed. It was still an entertaining ride, but I found it to be VERY predictable and not quite as great as I hoped or had heard. Don't get me wrong it is definitely worth seeing once, but don't listen to the hype. Just remember you are going to see a King Kong movie to have fun, not an Oscar worthy period piece about primates that is full of great performances.

[Jonas]

As a pulpy adventure film, Kong: Skull Island was fun. Nothing special, not even as an adventure movie, but solid fun with a nice atmosphere and some nice moments.

[Looney]

As a pulpy adventure film, Kong: Skull Island was fun. Nothing special, not even as an adventure movie, but solid fun with a nice atmosphere and some nice moments.

I completely agree. I think that is why I was a bit disappointed. From what I had heard I was expecting something special, but really it was just a "solid fun with a nice atmosphere and some nice moments."

[Jan]

Anybody here see the live-action 'Beauty and the Beast'? I enjoyed it. Mostly I was curious to see Dan Stevens (from Downton Abbey) in something else.

[WorkerCaste]

My wife and I have plans to see it, hopefully this weekend.

[Shan'waia]

Anybody here see the live-action 'Beauty and the Beast'? I enjoyed it. Mostly I was curious to see Dan Stevens (from Downton Abbey) in something else.

Ahahaha! This is a funny story. I'm not big on the live action remakes, and I also don't like Stevens, so I wasn't going to see it.

But my sister wanted to see it. It was her first real move theater experience as a kid, and it's special to her. So when she found out I wasn't going to watch it, well, I quote her verbatim:

Sister: No! Nuh-uh! Absolutely not. You are coming to see it with me at the Drafthouse and you will LIKE IT!

Well, if it means THAT much to you!

So we went and it was fun. Not as good as the old movie, and I still don't like Stevens, but Josh Gad stole the show anyway so who cares. lol

...What else is out right now? I'm really bad about keeping up with new movies. I used to be better about it but then i grew up and had to pay bills. lol

[WorkerCaste]

We did go and see it today. I thought it was enjoyable, but not great. Loved Kevin, Emma, Emma and Ewan. I wished there had been more of Stanley Tucci. I thought Luke Evans did a very good Gaston. I didn't care for Josh Gad's LeFou or Dan Stevens Beast. As far as the story goes, I liked that they smoothed oven some of the plot points I had always found troubling with the original, e.g. Why were the staff punished? Why did the sources curse and run? Why didn't the village know about the castle and prince?

Beyond those small items, it's hard to say too much about it since it hews so closely to the animated original.

[Looney]

I saw Wilson today in St. Louis. It had its moments, but I don't think I will ever be seeing it again. I laughed, but I think there was a little too much me and a little too much of people I can't stand in the lead character, Wilson. The cast is REALLY good.

[Looney]

I saw Assassin's Creed Saturday night. I can't say I loved it. I only played the second game and I did enjoy it, but the movie fell pretty flat for me, especially the ending. Having said this, I would watch a sequel just to see where they go with it because, as I said, I did enjoy the second game - not that it really has much to do with what they'll do in any future movie releases.

[Dawnchild]

I watched the much hyped sci fi-movie "Arrival" recently and though it is a very good film in many respects (acting/story/visuals etc) it still lacked something for me.. some magic, some wonder.. some emotion.. a thrill.. a satisfying resolution.. that 'little extra' that classic films like Spielberg's "Close Encounters" have..

Perhaps it is in part a lack of aliens ("Arrival" has aliens but not in the conventional sense), or perhaps the film simply became a bit too 'psychological-realistic' for me (a trend also seen in newer films like "Gravity" and "Interstellar").

I enjoy most sci fi tbh (have lots of film-favourites + series like "B5"/"Farscape"/"Firefly") but more the sci-fi of 'YesterYear' I find.. perhaps I am more of a 'traditionalist' when it comes to sci-fi, I don't know..

[Looney]

I watched the much hyped sci fi-movie "Arrival" recently and though it is a very good film in many respects (acting/story/visuals etc) it still lacked something for me.. some magic, some wonder.. some emotion.. a thrill.. a satisfying resolution.. that 'little extra' that classic films like Spielberg's "Close Encounters" have..

Perhaps it is in part a lack of aliens ("Arrival" has aliens but not in the conventional sense), or perhaps the film simply became a bit too 'psychological-realistic' for me (a trend also seen in newer films like "Gravity" and "Interstellar").

I enjoy most sci fi tbh (have lots of film-favourites + series like "B5"/"Farscape"/"Firefly") but more the sci-fi of 'YesterYear' I find.. perhaps I am more of a 'traditionalist' when it comes to sci-fi, I don't know..

I completely agree. I also found The Arrival to be good, but lacking. And yes it seems like films today are trying to do Science Fiction with a new twist and the new twists aren't always very entertaining. Like I said, The Arrival is well acted, well scripted, well shot, but I still didn't feel that interested or invested in the story.

[Looney]

Okay so I finished watching Oliver Stone's Alexander (2004) last night. What went wrong here? I wouldn't say this is a bad movie, though there are some surprisingly poorly directed moments, but it is what I would call a failed effort. There just seems to be something missing in this epic. There seems to be a spark that is absent. I feel that Collin Farrell is putting in the effort, but I am not captivated by his performance. The character he brings to life just doesn't come off like the character the movie seems to want to portray. Many of the other performances don't really stand out either. I guess my point is that the effort put into this massive project should have yielded better results.

[Ubik]

I saw Wilson today in St. Louis. It had its moments, but I don't think I will ever be seeing it again. I laughed, but I think there was a little too much me and a little too much of people I can't stand in the lead character, Wilson. The cast is REALLY good.

Have you read the Dan Clowes comic this is based on? Very funny, but very dark humour. Basically a series of 6 panel gag strips that gradually paint a picture of Wilson's life. Clever piece of cartooning. Curious to see the film.