Amph What was the last movie you saw? (Ver. 2)

The Phantom Menace. It’s my least favourite out of the films, but I still love it. Fantastic soundtrack. Some really great sequences (pod racing and duel of the fates). Plus Qui-Gon is the best character in it. Liam Neeson does a superb job. 9/10.

The next film I’ll be seeing is Solo tomorrow. Very exciting!

 

The answer is: watch Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest movies instead.

The more I thought about 47 Ronin the more the Asian cast is the only good thing about it.

 

Currently watching The Trollenberg Terror (1958) on Talking Pictures TV. Haven't seen this in years. US folks will know this as The Crawling Eye.

Hoping to see Solo tomorrow morning - it opens here a day earlier than the US.

 

STAR WARS - SOLO



10/10

 

Director Joseph Kosinski's two sci-fi efforts (The other being Tron Legacy) have definitely been exceptionally impressive on a technical level, managing to be simultaneously dazzling and immersive (The two can often mutually exclusive or work @ cross purposes). The main criticism I've seen against each film is that they keep you @ arm's length emotionally, though I'd argue each features @ least one strong emotional beat;

Spoiler

Kevin Flynn's sacrifice for Sam in Legacy, and Cruise's character's similar sacrifice in Oblivion

. I love the former film, but the latter left me a bit cold overall (though I need to and plan to re-watch it). I haven't seen his third effort, Only the Brave, but as I understand it, it's gut punch emotionally. When he was announced as the director of the otherwise head-scratching Top Gun sequel, my hopes for it rose a bit.

It's the only film in the series I actually kinda-sorta liked. Heck, it's the only film in the series I've managed to watch beginning to end. I know the first one is beloved (the 2nd not so much), but I've never been able to get past the half way mark in numerous attempts. I watched the 3rd one on a whim and found it breezy, fun and charming. It had a sort of... I dunno, Austin Powers vibe @ times. I give the bulk of the credit for my liking it to Josh Brolin.


Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) - Plot; Imprisoned Special Forces vet John J. Rambo is offered a mission to gather evidence of American POW's still being held in Vietnam, but not everyone wants him to succeed.

In 1985, Stallone's two most iconic characters each returned to the big screen. In both instances, critics claimed that the franchises had strayed far away from their roots. Rocky Balboa had gone from a simple underdog plying the only trade he had in a methodically crafted drama to a more erudite fighting machine in a slick, fast-paced story--more montage than movie--that is at once a revenge tale and a Cold War parable. It's immensely entertaining, and a tad more clever regarding the latter than I think it's given credit for, but its connection to the original Rocky is tenuous at best.

Rambo II is similarly seen as departure from the original, and in some ways that's certainly true. Like Rocky IV, Rambo II is far slicker than the original. But the idea that it's a "jingoistic" flag-waver isn't exactly true IMO. The original First Blood wasn't by any means the first film to tackle the aftermath of the Vietnam War and its returning veterans, but it may be its most effective. Married w/raw, white knuckle action, it puts a laser-like focus on PTSD and the struggle of those who returned home w/o the tickertape parades of vets past. Though it's been parodied over the years, Stallone's emotional collapse at the end of that film is some of the most powerful and brutally honest acting I've ever seen.

Rambo II sees the character recruited for a mission that's ultimately a scam, leaving him for dead to save the butt's of the bureaucrats. At the end, when asked what he wants, he says that he (and his fellow vets) only want to be loved by their country as much as they love it. This isn't Rah! Rah! USA! USA! stuff. Sure, the Russians show up and Rambo blasts, slices and dices his way through them, but this is far, far less black and white than Rocky IV. Is it any good? Yeah. Well, maybe not "good", but is it entertaining? Yeah. Yeah it is.

It's a taught, 90 minute actioner than probably has less than 20 lines of dialog in its final half hour, but that's to its advantage. Helmed by red-meat director George P. Cosmatos, it's a technically more proficient actioner than many of its contemporaries. Stallone's Rambo character lacks that raw, exposed nerve edge he had in First Blood, becoming more of the monosyllabic killing machine we think of these days, but as always he remains a compelling on-screen presence. Richard Crenna returns as Rambo's former C.O. in a thankless role that sees him only pop up to occasionally remind us how big Rambo's wang is. Charles Napier and Martin Kove do yeoman's work as the de facto villains.

Rambo II is a solid 80s actioner, but it's mostly noteworthy because it's not the Right Wing flag-waver it's purported to be. As a Right Wing flag-waver myself, I know 'em when I see 'em. That would be Stallone's other film from 1985, Rocky IV. - 6.5/10

 

Solo: A Star Wars Story

WOW! I’m completely blown away! That was honestly amazing. Alden is a fantastic Han and gives his own take on the character that works so well. Chewie is better than he’s ever been. Lando was done perfectly. ALL of the new characters are incredible. The visuals were perfect. The action was breathtaking. It was charming and funny. The story is great. You couldn’t ask for a better origin story than that. The soundtrack is brilliant as always with some returning classic themes. It really feels like it belongs in the saga. It’s just a really, really, really well made film. I can’t wait to see it again!

 

@The2ndQuest I'd forgotten Cameron had any attachment here until his name popped up in the opening credits. He and Stallone are both credited, and I instinctively knew that Stallone had probably heavily re-written a Cameron draft. As I watched it, I was on the lookout for any remaining Cameron DNA and failed to find any. Thanks for the Cameron quotes. They pretty much affirm what I'd suspected.

Ditto. I knew it didn't fare very well @ the b/o, but I didn't know just how bad ($23 million worldwide). Great critical and audience response though (%87 RT, 7.7 IMDb).

 

Saw Solo this morning. I liked it - might go again after next week (kids are off school then).

 

@The2ndQuest - thanks for the info on Rambo II - all these years I have been thinking it was purely Cameron’s script (I never bothered to look at the credits, but I should have known Stallone had a big hand in writing because of the tone. Well Cameron got his proper ‘Nam movie in with Aliens (and that is the only Cameron movie I still watch and love on a semi-regular basis largely because of the cast.

@Juke Skywalker I love Men in Black and Men in Black 3. Tommy Lee Jones pulling off NY sarcastic humor wins every time. I still laugh at some of the one liners in the first one, but hey, different strokes.

Unless something happens with my friend, seeing Deadpool 2 this evening. We could use a laugh.

 

Rambo: First Blood Part II was where I first heard and learned the meaning of "expendable."

 

And that is his prerogative if he did so. I can totally relate to not wanting people to reedit, recut, remix, remaster and otherwise meddle with my art. On a practical level, it takes a lot of space and effort to properly store those unused negative film cans. If he was determined that they never were to be released, why keep storing them, especially as he neared the end of his life. Perhaps he was doing some "spring cleaning" to ensure his wishes were complied with.
The cut final scene from The Shining is not very interesting and as a denouement, would have taken away from the end of the film, imo. Would have made it much more in line with any typical horror film, what with setting up the possibility of a sequel. You will note, too that Stephen King remade The Shining, as he wished it to be more completely based on his own book. Although somewhat entertaining and worth a look, overall it's a pretty dreadful film when compared to Kubrick's version.

I like the scene when Tom's character goes back to the little oasis to listen to Led Zeppelin and chill by the water. And overall, I thought his performance captured some subtle emotion, especially in the scenes involving his wife and her counterpart who betrays him.
I haven't seen Only The Brave either.

Kubo and the Two Strings
An awesome film, hopefully destined to be regarded as a classic by many. The stop motion is mind blowing. I really respect the care and artistry that went into this film. Excellent music and a compelling story about family. There are several impactful messages in this film. It's a real treat visually as well, several inventive and dazzling set pieces keep the action rolling in between the more expository sections. Three viewings for me, so far, and it gets better each time.

 

Couldn't agree more, the surprises, the everything.

 

Deadpool 2 - loved Brolin and the mid credits scenes. Of course I laughed at

Spoiler

winter soldier line and the parachute jump scene

My friend and hoped it would be much funnier. He was bummed he realized he missed Five Element Ninjas for this; I was too.

And Solo is a bust as I figured. Friend bailed and I have no desire pay more than rental price to see it.

@The2ndQuest - thanks for that info. You can definitely see the PSTD in some characters in Aliens (Hudson is pretty obvious).

 

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Let's just put it that way: Lucasfilms should definitely make more of these anthology films (between this and Rogue One). A good way to expand or tell more stories about the GFFA without always having a Jedi vs Sith plot (or similar conflicts).

Spoiler

If you've seen Rebels and The Clone Wars, then you'll know that Maul has survived. Given what happens in Rebels, this movie takes place a good while before the show. If you haven't...well...

 

I caught that this time 'round and had an "Ah-ha!" moment.

 

Deadpool 2
Really funny in the tastless and dark joke way.

Spoiler

I feel bad for the Shatterstar and Bedlam fans (I don't think Zeitgeist have any fans)

 

The last movie I saw was SOLO: A Star Wars Story.

 

"**** you?"

And now the review project being kept afloat by sheer OCD continues.

The Hornback-Murphy Fight (1894) – William K.L. Dickson

This is another snippet from a real boxing match. 0 stars.

tl;dr – 0 stars.

In all seriousness, there are a couple coming up shortly that actually are pretty interesting and get fairly long write-ups from me. But there's just nothing to say about this one.

 

Saw "Solo" tonight and I thought it was very good. After TLJ, I wanted a fast-paced, fun adventure and I got it.

One downside was having to sit through the trailers for "Skyscraper", "Venom", the new "Mission: Impossible" movie, "Adrift", the new "Fantastic Beasts" movie, the Freddie Mercury biopic, "Ant-Man & the Wasp", and "Incredibles 2". And then there was the student-made Coke commercial. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who said, "Finally!" when the actual movie started.

 

You guys are lucky that you get heaps of movie trailers. In New Zealand it’s 20-25 minutes of ads beforehand, with only a few being actual movie trailers.