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Midweek Movie Free Talk
Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.
Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.
its been a long time since I watched The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I decided to do the extended for Fellowship and theatrical for the other two.
Its neat how most of the CGI holds up. The stuff that doesn't REALLY doesn't. One thing I never understood is why Smiegel had the fucked up voice before the ring.
Very good timing on this post, I just got out of the theatre for Bi Gan's "Resurrection" and I don't think I've ever left the theatre more confused and intrigued. I never went to film school or took any type of art class, and I actually thought I'd go into the movie so I can practice my Mandarin listening.
Instead I got a fascinating homage to cinema as a whole, throughout the ages, as well as exploring the five senses in a way that I've never seen before. I was incredibly confused for most of the movie, before finally kinda getting it by the last 3 sections, I really want to rewatch it. The camera work was amazing, the color work was incredible, and the sound was gorgeous.
It does get into the pretentious side in some ways, imo, but honestly most of the parts of the movie were so well done that I didn't even mind at all.
I'm really curious on if anyone's seen it/their thoughts (@cloud_loud maybe?)
I have heard of it, and high brow film people really love it. I haven't seen it. Cannes/foreign stuff is what I'm really bad with keeping up with.
It feels like something you might like, would recommend!
I've started a rewatch of all the James Bond films from the beginning and I was impressed with how good Dr. No is for being the first film in the franchise. It has all the charm, the beats, action scenes, and fun elements of all the best Bond films. I will be enjoying From Russia With Love tonight and the slow marathon continues.
I think you'll really enjoy that one, I like it a lot and it's a standout Connery Bond movie for me. It's the closest to an actual spy movie that that era gets, with intrigue and plotting.
You are so right. I loved it through and through for basically all the reasons you mentioned. I watched it at least a couple times in the last two decades but it didn't make an impression then for whatever reason. This time it definitely did.
I love the beginning and the middle, seeing Bond on the job, making contact with the local support and girl, stealing the lector ("Excuse me is that clock right?" "Russian clocks are always-") and being trailed and confronted by Red Grant. It's a shame that Kronsteen gets unceremoniously killed off and replaced by a much more stock villain, his introduction and plotting was far more interesting than "lady with shoe knife".
It is also essentially North by Northwest
North by Northwest can certainly be called an unofficial Bond movie that set the archetype in many aspects, and it shares a setpiece I know we're both thinking of, but I wouldn't call it the same movie. Most importantly, NNW stars an everyman who by mistaken identity gets hunted by a powerful criminal gang / spy ring and shenanigans ensue - Bond really is a secret agent, and can better cope with and prepare for the knowledge that people want to kill him because it's the job.
I’m a big bond freak but I struggled with a lot of the early ones. I liked Dr No, but I thought it was mostly okay. From Russia with Love was the best of the Connery’s. Could not really get into Goldfinger or Thunderball.
Dr. No had some tropes of its time that would be left behind for the franchise' better, like the cowardly black guy who gets killed to big up the enemy, or the evil mastermind deciding to take the hero's nubile female companion for his men.
I've never been a huge fan of Bond but it tilted that way in recent years. I never really cared for the early ones either for decades but for some reason that has changed. And I would certainly agree with FRWL being a perfect example of the Connery years.
If we're talking about the best of the 60s era in general my pick would have to On Her Majesty's Secret Service. I've always adored that one. It just has everything I love about Bond films and that wild late 60s vibe and atmosphere.
But with Goldfinger, as I'm halfway through that one again, the charm that Dr. No and FRWL had is still there for me. I'm curious if that will remain the case for Thunderball too. I'll probably be finding that out tomorrow.
Yeah OHMSS is great. That's Christopher Nolan's favorite.
I got around to watching Avatar 3 this week, and I found the experience to be very repetitive. I was amazed by how the finale was truly Avatar (2+1).
A summary of the plot's similarities to Avatar 2, including spoilers but by definition they're spoilers you've seen already in the last movie
Whales attack the ships (from Avatar 2), then banshees dive bomb the helicopter gunships (from Avatar 1), then Eywa sends in a horde of wildlife (from Avatar 1, again). About the only new factor were the Ash people, and they were just the War Boys from Mad Max without the depth - a generically evil and questionably sane tribe of mooks for the heroes to fight.It felt like James Cameron looked at the epic Water Tribe Na'vi fight he had to cut from Avatar 2, and decided to contrive a do-over to fit it in this time, complete with Spider being captured and Quadritch trying to bond with him (again), Ney'teri going nuts and wanting to kill Spider (again), that whale being outcast for killing the whalers (again), or that one lady general who walks around with her hands on hips all the time, putting her hand on her hips (again).
Overall it felt far less impactful and more bloated than a movie, and more like a miniseries jammed into a single multi-hour marathon. It's certainly not a bad experience, but the very limited time for any scene means that there's a lot of potential that couldn't be explored for all the Sullys that have their own plotlines.
Still haven’t seen The Secret Agent. And who knows, it might surprise me and I’ll end up putting it on my list. But considering my track record with hyped up Cannes films probably not. I did manage to see Sirat as well, that was good, and I would have preferred that win Palme over Accident. Anyways here’s my top 10 of 2025:
Honorable mentions: Caught Stealing, Roofman, Jay Kelly, and Eternity
Little tidbit: five of the films on my top 10 are from WarnerBros.
Tonight I am watching * The Killer (喋血雙雄) (1989) -- I think this might be the third time. I love it. I prefer the english dub, since that is what was used all over Raekwon's OB4CL. Great film --- absolutely over the top for the most part, but in an operatic sense.
An absolute must watch for any fans of the genre... mind you, if you're a fan of the genre, you've likely seen this a few times.
*shoots a stack of full propane tanks on the beach*