Let's Talk Movies #34 - Kingsmen, Murder, Blade Runners and...IT!

[Buzz]

Star Wars: The Last Jedi made over $104m in North America yesterday with another $60m+ overseas for a two day total of $165m. Estimates for the weekend has risen to $215m. Not bad at all.
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4353&p=.htm

 

[Jay42]

I really, really loved The Last Jedi. I would easily put it at #2 on my list of Star Wars movies behind Empire Strikes Back. It was so good. I loved the little bits of humour, this movie isn't bright and sunshiney, the humour that was there kept the movie from feeling too dreary and like it was a slog to get through. I loved how it was directed, there's a scene on the island where the way the focus switches a couple of times works so well with everything else that's happening in the scene that made me so happy. The close ups on peoples hands were cool, I love a good close up shot.

I'm putting this next bit under spoilers just in case.

Spoiler

Leia uses the force!!!! There are not words to describe how happy that made me.

This movie also featured my second favourite use of silence as a plot device in a visual medium, the first is the end of the episode The Pandorica Opens from season 5 of Doctor Who.

I do think it was a bit long though. The Force Awakens was 2 hours 20 minutes and I think The Last Jedi would have been fine at the same length. But oh well, I still love this movie to bits and I can't wait to watch it again.

 

[Buzz]

Meet Star Wars: The Last Jedi's breakout star Kelly Marie Tran. She sounds as charming in real life as she is in the movie. To think just two years ago she was working an office job but never gave up on her dream.
http://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/...st-jedi-who-is-rose-kelly-marie-tran-explains

 

[cocotaffy]

Just came back from Star Wars and the best moment with the 4DX effect was hands down the silent explosion (people who've seen the movie will understand). I prefered the second half of the movie especially the interactions between

Spoiler

Rey and Kylo Ren

and all the fight scenes. It did run a bit long but overall was quite good.

 

[Buzz]

Senator Amy Klobuchar is voicing concerns over the Disney deal with FOX. We will see what appends but I hope the deal still goes through.
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-brief...wants-investigation-of-disney-deal-to-buy-fox

 

[Vash01]

I must be the only one on fsu who didn't like TLJ. On IMDb many agree with my assessment, but still it has. 8.0 rating.

 

[Buzz]

Yeah the movie got some mixed reactions but it still made a massive $450m worldwide this weekend. And I'm going to see it again today!

 

[Jay42]

I must be the only one on fsu who didn't like TLJ. On IMDb many agree with my assessment, but still it has. 8.0 rating.

The movie seems to be incredibly divisive among fans. One person I follow on Tumblr said she liked it far more the second time she saw it. Rotten Tomatoes had the audience rating at 56% earlier today. So it’s definitely hit and miss for people. I wonder if it will hold up better when people watch it again at home.

My brother said he saw someone on Reddit say that The Force Awakens was criticised for not taking enough risks and The Last Jedi is being criticised for taking too many.

 

[Vash01]

Yeah the movie got some mixed reactions but it still made a massive $450m worldwide this weekend. And I'm going to see it again today!

It's making money only because of the title Star Wars. I am sure people will want to see it at least once. Those who didn't Like it - like me- won't be going back 4-5 times. In the end it may not make what TFA made in dollars. I may see it again but only after the bad taste goes away.

 

[Buzz]

My brother said he saw someone on Reddit say that The Force Awakens was criticised for not taking enough risks and The Last Jedi is being criticised for taking too many.

I think this sums it up plus the movie borrows from expanded universe and if you are unfamiliar with it or don't like the EU then you may have problems with the movie. I did love the movie although I don't like expended universe stuff much. The second weekend ticket sales will tell for sure.

 

[Vash01]

I think this sums it up plus the movie borrows from expanded universe and if you are unfamiliar with it or don't like the EU then you may have problems with the movie. I did love the movie although I don't like expended universe stuff much. The second weekend ticket sales will tell for sure.

My dislike of the movie had nothing to do with not knowing or understanding a certain philosophy or EU. I don't think I am that dumb. Also I don't think you should consider people ignorant because they didn't like a movie that you liked.

I am evaluating it as a Movie- Story, screenplay, direction, editing, acting, cinematography. Etc. This movie has a terrible screenplay. The humor borders on stupidity and is cheap Hollywood humor. The story is disjointed, thanks to poor screenplay and poor editing. The older characters are caricatures of their old selves. The director failed to bring out the characters except may be Rey's. John Boyega was completely wasted. They even gave him an Asian girl friend, to complete their diversity because that component was missing?

TFA created curiosity about Rey's ancestry. None of that was clarified, except for some kind of hint from Kylo Ren. The special effects, instead of enhancing the movie, overpower it. This is definitely the worst Star Wars movie, IMO. George Lucas should not have sold the rights to Disney, although I had felt encouraged when episode 7 came out.

 

[VGThuy]

I thought TFA was incredibly safe, formulaic, stale, and boring with not much interesting going on and little to no real character development. I only enjoyed Oscar Isaac for adding some personality and adding something more that wasn’t written in the screenplay apparently in his like five minute role. Do you guys think I’d enjoy this installment more?

ETA: Wait, you have a problem with a character’s girlfriend being Asian? Would you be mad with the inclusion of the character if she was white?

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

I liked this one better than TFA but I didn't love it. IMO the best is still the original trilogy.

The best part about this installment is the backgrounds and a lot of the visual effects. I loved the red ground in the final fight. It gave it an interesting look.


ETA:

Do you guys think I’d enjoy this installment more?

One of the issues I had with TFA is it copied too much from the original trilogy without having enough original elements to it. I felt that this one still copied a lot from Return of the Jedi.

 

[Kruss]

I saw The Last Jedi yesterday and really liked it, although I want to see it again to get more from it. I wasn't blown away, but I was very satisfied to see a conclusion of sorts regarding the original characters and story. And...

Spoiler

I was immensely happy to see Yoda being portrayed with puppetry instead of CGI - it completed the nostalgia for me.

As for tickets, I learned long ago not to buy tickets to these big movies in advance. There's no need; they usually open on a Friday, and by Saturday morning, there are plenty of seats to be had. I bought my ticket for the 12:20 pm show at 12:05 pm, and then jumped in my car to get to the theater. I came in during what I think might have been the first or second of the many 'coming attractions'.

 

[Jay42]

As for tickets, I learned long ago not to buy tickets to these big movies in advance. There's no need; they usually open on a Friday, and by Saturday morning, there are plenty of seats to be had. I bought my ticket for the 12:20 pm show at 12:05 pm, and then jumped in my car to get to the theater. I came in during what I think might have been the first or second of the many 'coming attractions'.

Our theatre got Prime Seating last year and it's so much better than normal seating. Comfier chairs and more leg room, plus the seats are guaranteed so you can arrive pretty much whenever and it's still a good spot. So my brother and I usually buy our tickets in advance so we can sit there. More recently I have been reminded that I have really sensitive hearing so Prime Seating has been a life saver because I can sit far enough away from the speakers that it doesn't hurt my ears as much. I still have to wear an ear plug in at least one ear though.

I think this sums it up plus the movie borrows from expanded universe and if you are unfamiliar with it or don't like the EU then you may have problems with the movie. I did love the movie although I don't like expended universe stuff much. The second weekend ticket sales will tell for sure.

I am unfamiliar with the EU so knowing that it borrows stuff from the EU definitely explains some things. I still loved the movie though so clearly my lack of knowledge didn't get too in the way.

One thing I forgot to mention last night was how much I love how diverse the movie is. Seeing many of the background characters being various people of colour and different aliens was really cool as well. So often in big movies it's just a sea of white people.

I really like Rose Tico, she was great and to say she is just Finn's girlfriend is doing a great disservice to her character. She presented a different perspective that we might not have gotten to see outside of the EU otherwise. Also in many other movies her character would have been the "cute best friend but never love interest" or "over sexualized love interest" type. Rose is none of those things. She is sweet and earnest and she wants to help and so she does.

 

[Kruss]

I don't blame you, location is definitely important so that the movie experience can be enjoyed.

Every seat in my theater is a reclining one, which is nice because it does offer much more comfort and variety.

 

[Jay42]

You're so lucky. We only have the one theatre, we used to have more but they weren't getting the business, one was in a pretty bad location, kind of a bad part of town and no easy parking, it did have way nicer seating though. So our Cineplex getting the Prime Seating in their bigger screens was a huge deal.

 

[cocotaffy]

One thing I forgot to mention last night was how much I love how diverse the movie is. Seeing many of the background characters being various people of colour and different aliens was really cool as well. So often in big movies it's just a sea of white people.

As I was watching it, I also appreciated the presence of many women of diverse backgrounds plus many women pilot this time around too. Thinking about the movie, it's not my favorite because IV and V will forever be star wars for me. I also enjoy VII and Rogue One more than this one which kind of felt like a filler episode before a great show-down in the next. There was still some nice action scenes and I really enjoy Kylo Ren portrayed by Adam Driver, an actor whose work is generally quite interesting. Riley's character is also growing nicely however Poe did piss me off a bit with his cocky attitude which was a bit too caricatural. Finally, the Casino part was way too long not bringing much to the movie apart for creating some deeper bond between

Spoiler

Rose and Finn

Overall, a nice action movie but not the one I will be rewatching during Christmas in the next years.

 

[Jay42]

As I was watching it, I also appreciated the presence of many women of diverse backgrounds plus many women pilot this time around too. Thinking about the movie, it's not my favorite because IV and V will forever be star wars for me. I also enjoy VII and Rogue One more than this one which kind of felt like a filler episode before a great show-down in the next. There was still some nice action scenes and I really enjoy Kylo Ren portrayed by Adam Driver, an actor whose work is generally quite interesting. Riley's character is also growing nicely however Poe did piss me off a bit with his cocky attitude which was a bit too caricatural. Finally, the Casino part was way too long not bringing much to the movie apart for creating some deeper bond between

Spoiler

Rose and Finn

Overall, a nice action movie but not the one I will be rewatching during Christmas in the next years.

I'd been thinking about the length of the movie and where they could have possibly cut from to make it a little tighter. The Casino part is probably the best area to do that.

 

[Allskate]

I had been looking forward to seeing Lady Bird, and I finally saw it today. I was so disappointed. I do not get the 99% Rotten Tomatoes score or all the award nominations. I generally like Laurie Metcalf and Saoirse Ronan, but I didn't like the script and directing, so I wasn't blow away by their acting either. It just seemed like a meandering and shifting, boring blah movie. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't good, either. I felt bad that I convinced my friend to go. I told her she could pick the next movie. As coming of age movies go, I thought last year's "Edge of Seventeen" was much, much better.

 

[Buzz]

Someone noticed a small connection between Rogue One and The Last Jedi. SPOILERS

 

[annie720]

I had been looking forward to seeing Lady Bird, and I finally saw it today. I was so disappointed. I do not get the 99% Rotten Tomatoes score or all the award nominations. I generally like Laurie Metcalf and Saoirse Ronan, but I didn't like the script and directing, so I wasn't blow away by their acting either. It just seemed like a meandering and shifting, boring blah movie. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't good, either. I felt bad that I convinced my friend to go. I told her she could pick the next movie. As coming of age movies go, I thought last year's "Edge of Seventeen" was much, much better.

I felt the same way about it. Good, but not great, and I didn't think Saoirse Ronan's performance was all that. For a lead actress performance, I was much more blown away by Frances McDormand in Three Billboards.

I saw The Shape of Water yesterday. I was entranced initially and loved the first half of the movie and its quirkiness, but eventually became bored with it as it seemed to turn into a comic book story.

 

[VGThuy]

I had been looking forward to seeing Lady Bird, and I finally saw it today. I was so disappointed. I do not get the 99% Rotten Tomatoes score or all the award nominations. I generally like Laurie Metcalf and Saoirse Ronan, but I didn't like the script and directing, so I wasn't blow away by their acting either. It just seemed like a meandering and shifting, boring blah movie. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't good, either. I felt bad that I convinced my friend to go. I told her she could pick the next movie. As coming of age movies go, I thought last year's "Edge of Seventeen" was much, much better.

I think because Rotten Tomatoes doesn't gauge how much the critic liked it, just whether they liked it. Lady Bird seems to be the type of movie that people are either passionate about because it spoke to them, or other people think is overrated and don't get the hype. That said, it's not really a movie that people hate or actively dislike unless it starts winning awards or at least getting nominated for awards where people who were already questioning why is it getting so much buzz gets heightened a bit because they also don't see why it's winning things. Metacritic is a good source to see how much the critics actually liked the movie, rather than just showing if they liked it.

 

[cygnus]

TFA created curiosity about Rey's ancestry. None of that was clarified, except for some kind of hint from Kylo Ren. The special effects, instead of enhancing the movie, overpower it. This is definitely the worst Star Wars movie, IMO. George Lucas should not have sold the rights to Disney, although I had felt encouraged when episode 7 came out.

I think that Rey's ancestry was absolutely clarified (unless Kylo Ren was lying, which I doubt), and I think that the answer is a brilliant one, and totally in keeping with the spirit of the final scene of the movie.

There is a really good article on the movie here - http://www.slashfilm.com/the-last-jedi-defense/2/ , which you may find interesting, whether or not you agree with it. You have every right to dislike the movie- many do, but many love it, and I would expect that this one, in all its complexity would be the most divisive of the franchise. I will be seeing it again, as will most of my friends (a few didn't care for it, though) - one is seeing it tomorrow for the 4th time. This one made me think, which the others, much as I loved them, did not in the same way.

 

[PeterG]

Watched Uncertain Glory yesterday. It's a 1944 war drama romance starring Errol Flynn. The movie is about a career criminal (Flynn) who is caught by inspector after tracking him for many years. Flynn's capture happens in a small French town where the two men discover a bridge has just been blown up. The Nazis imprison 100 local men who will be killed unless the person responsible for blowing up the bridge comes forward. The movie is about how the inspector suggests to Flynn's character that if he takes responsible for the bridge, he could change his story and rather than facing the guillotine as a criminal, he could instead be responsible for saving 100 men's lives. The movie follows the two men as they gather information to ensure that Flynn's story becomes believable. At the same time, we are unsure whether Flynn will try to escape, evading the inspector one more time. Plus there is a young beautiful woman that Flynn starts to fall for, pulling him in the direction of escape even more.

Paul Lukas plays the inspector, he won a best actor Oscar in 1944 for the movie Watch On The Rhine. He was also in the movies 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Lady Vanishes, Dodsworth and the 1935 version of The Three Musketeers. Another strong performance in this movie is by Lucille Watson, who co-starred with Lukas on Watch On The Rhine, for which she was nominated for best supporting actress. Watson was also in the movies The Little Women (1949), The Thin Man Goes Home and The Women.

As strong as these two performances are, Flynn does a wonderful job as the leading man, in a non-action role. I think this quote found at Wikipedia sums things up perfectly:

The Washington Post said "Flynn has never given a more restrained, earnest and believable portrayal ... there is guile, sly humour, an appealing bravado, grim rebellion, gentleness, charm, in his drawing of a character that is alternately enigmatic and transparent. Mr Flynn is more of an actor than many have thought."

 

[Allskate]

I think because Rotten Tomatoes doesn't gauge how much the critic liked it, just whether they liked it. Lady Bird seems to be the type of movie that people are either passionate about because it spoke to them, or other people think is overrated and don't get the hype.

Yeah, but they still have to like it. Almost every critic on Rotten Tomatoes liked it. That's surprising to me. All the award nominations surprise me, too. It makes me wonder if this is just a really weak year in movies. And maybe Ronan and Metcalfe are being rewarded for past performances.

 

[VGThuy]

I think it deserves all the accolades and more, so there’s that. I think it’s not really a movie that critics would hate but not all would love.

 

[Vash01]

Washington post article on TLJ:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-last-jedi-on-a-curve/?utm_term=.2f8bb52be557

Alyssa Rosenberg has written two articles on it. This is the second one. She is much more analytical than I am. (That's why she gets paid for writing ).

 

[Vash01]

Has anyone seen the Fifty shades of gray and the sequel(s)? I saw the trailer of the latest and it looked interesting. Somehow the original never interested me. Is it worth renting?

 

[cygnus]

Has anyone seen the Fifty shades of gray and the sequel(s)? I saw the trailer of the latest and it looked interesting. Somehow the original never interested me. Is it worth renting?

I'm not into the franchise, but its rating on Rotten Tomatoes is 10%. If it's your thing you might like it, but most of the audience didn't.