Movies! (and television)

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Empoeria
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Re: Movies!

Post by Empoeria »

I spent like 9 hours in a plane today so I got to watch The secret life of Pets, La La Land, and Arrival. Pets was really cute and I love watching animated movies sometimes for nostalgic reasons, La La Land is pretty mediocre imo but I liked some aspects of the story, and Arrival was surprisingly good! I loved the concept and the overall mood of the movie, and the soundtrack. It actually might be my new favorite Alien movie. Has anyone else seen it? Thoughts?
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Isobel The Sorceress
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Re: Movies!

Post by Isobel The Sorceress »

empoeria wrote:I spent like 9 hours in a plane today so I got to watch The secret life of Pets, La La Land, and Arrival. Pets was really cute and I love watching animated movies sometimes for nostalgic reasons, La La Land is pretty mediocre imo but I liked some aspects of the story, and Arrival was surprisingly good! I loved the concept and the overall mood of the movie, and the soundtrack. It actually might be my new favorite Alien movie. Has anyone else seen it? Thoughts?
I did see the Arrival, and liked it as well. It feels like 90 % of alien movies are about intergalactic wars / blowing shit up, so it was very refreshing to see a movie with a focus on the characters and ideas. You can make an intense and exciting movie without meaningles non-stop action. ;)
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Jatsko
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Re: Movies!

Post by Jatsko »

Yeah same. It was a very similar to "Contact" (1997) and I'm glad they chose to make it a movie about aliens from the alternate perspective (that most people by and large can't stand, esp. Roland Emmerich)

yes I'm looking at you Independence Day
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Jatsko
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Re: Movies!

Post by Jatsko »

Ok. Let me splurge here a bit.

Movies I've seen recently that are just all around great films because they're carried by the character's dialogue:

American Hustle (has been on my to-do list)
Good Will Hunting (has been on my to-do list)
Inside Man (!!Jodie Foster!!)

And now recently I took a night off and spent a movie night at my friend's house, where we discussed all the upcoming movies. Most notably:

"Dunkirk" - I am really looking forward to this movie, which is a good thing because right now there aren't too many big-theater movies that are attracting me. I've been delving into the war genre a bit lately (Saving Private Ryan, Hacksaw Ridge are positive ones from there) and I really hope with Christopher Nolan (he did Interstellar! directing that this will capture the Battle of Dunkirk well. I think it has general high expectations and I hear it's been matching them.

"Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" - I haven't read the source material this is based off of but I am a complete sucker for visual effects and sci-fi so I want to give this one a shot in the theater. Looks like it's underperforming in initial reviews and I'm not wild about the casting but hopefully the eye candy will beat out any of its possible shortcomings like Dr. Strange did.

"Ready Player One" - I swear I might have never been as excited for a movie to be released since they announced Star Wars VII. I love the book dearly, though actually for the most part I've forgotten about it the past few years. But it's a wonderful story. Virtual reality super-structures. Dystopian, overpopulated real-world setting. Bit of romance. And ALL the 1980s American videogame arcade scene/cult movie/ counterculture references. Including RUSH. The greatest of them all. And they just released a Comic-Con trailer today as I write this. I'll update the post with my trailer thoughts in a bit.

"Wind River" - I'm not sure many people will see this one, but it looks interesting. It's set in the deep snows of Wyoming, USA and casts Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch from the Avengers) and Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye from the Avengers) in a crime hunt on a Native American reservation (not related to the Avengers). Critics I guess are calling it one of Jeremy Renner's best performances. I hope it is; I liked him in both the Avengers/Civil War and also most notably Arrival.

About last night...the stuff I watched with mah buddies...

"Kong: Skull Island" - I never treated this movie as anything special, and I didn't have any plans to see it, but of course I watched it with them. If you like a bunch of huge primal monsters killing each other, King Kong, and Vietnam-era soldiers thrown into the mix with big explosions, then you'll like it. I give it credit for giving off the polar opposite feeling that "Godzilla" (2014) did. Kong really capitalized on the primal nature of the monsters and the rawness of being in the wilderness, while Godzilla was much more reserved in his authority in the city (rightfully so) and definitely played the looming dark figure well. They balance each other and I'm sure that the upcoming film Godzilla vs. Kong will be a great bit of fun.

"ARQ" - I recommend everyone here check this out. It came out in 2016 and is clearly a B-list sci-fi movie, with a clearly restrained budget for scenery and casting choices, but the premise of the movie is awesome.

Totalitarian societies + time loops = ARQ.

It's about two people who are stuck in a time loop that's generated by a "perpetual motion machine". They relive the same time over and over, but each time it's different. That's all I'm gonna say. Check it out.

Now on to that RPO trailer. Much excitement.

--The RPO trailer was great. Lots of great references. DeLoreans. Deadpool. Freddy Kruger. "TOM SAWYER" MY FAVE. And it looks visually stunning. A bit disappointed there wasn't more of a spotlight on the Easter Egg quest, but perhaps the next trailer will detail that.
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Augustus
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Re: Movies!

Post by Augustus »

Other question: Are there any Submachine like movies besides the Cube Series and Nothing I should watch?
On my list to watch:
Cloud Atlas
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Jatsko
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Re: Movies!

Post by Jatsko »

Hm. I still have to watch Cloud Atlas.

Here's a short list of things I can think of that have Submachine-esque elements, at least to me, ranked from closest to Submachine to farthest away:

1. "BLAME!" (2017) - anime adaptation of a manga that takes place in a future society where technology has gotten so advanced and out of control that endless cities are generated, and robotic sentries hunt down humans. Lot of good environments and architectural imagery, especially.

2. "Parallels" (2015) - parallel universes that are reached by a large abandoned building that acts as a bridge betwee the universes. Shows different worlds all on the same timeline, but if events in history had gone differently.

3."ARQ" (2016) - time loops. I described it more above.

4. "π" (1998) - black and white thriller about a math genius that tries to find patterns everywhere but is hindered by piercing migraines and is hunted down by mysterious religious sects.

5. "COMA" (2018) - Idk much about this one as it's a Russian film but I think we should keep an eye on it. The trailer reeks of Submachine elements.

Straying further from Submachine territory, there are even movies like

6. "Contact" (1997) - about an alien encounter with Earth, and a big part of the movie is figuring out the alien codes, involving geometry and huge machines, science vs. religion, the ethics of interacting with aliens, and a little bit of Space Hitler.

7. "The Maze Runner" (2014) - an, in my opinion, horrible adaptation of the novel (teen dystopian type of book), but nontheless filled with themes of quarantine, surrounded by moving walls and trapped in the middle of a giant maze. And there are monsters out in the maze. It takes place outside though ;/ It also has a sequel "The Scorch Trials" (2015) which again, as a devout reader of the books I didn't like it, but a Submachine explorer could still appreciate parts of it, I think.

Those are movies I can think of off the top of my head. Let me know if they were good recommendations or not.
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Empoeria
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Re: Movies!

Post by Empoeria »

Jatsko wrote:American Hustle (has been on my to-do list)
Good Will Hunting (has been on my to-do list)
I watched American Hustle just recently but the plot was so difficult to follow because MUMBLING. I hate it. (Amy Adams is bae tho)

GWH = I love it and Minnie Driver is extremely underrated
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Re: Movies!

Post by RoentgenDevice »

Jatsko wrote:
"Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" - I haven't read the source material this is based off of but I am a complete sucker for visual effects and sci-fi so
I LOVE the comic books and can't wait to see what they made out of them. I don't expect to see the depth some of them offer, but it looks amazing visually.
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reed
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Re: Movies!

Post by reed »

Checked out the "COMA" trailer. Since I don't have any idea who either the director or the actors are, it might turn out not as bad as the majority of Russian cinema.
I think someone may have mentioned Tarkovky's "Stalker" earlier? It reeks of rust and desolation, a very Submachine-like feeling.
UPD: another Submachinesque thing about Tarkovsky: the camera always moves either sideways or forward/backward.
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WorldisQuiet5256
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Re: Movies!

Post by WorldisQuiet5256 »

empoeria wrote: and Arrival was surprisingly good! I loved the concept and the overall mood of the movie, and the soundtrack. It actually might be my new favorite Alien movie. Has anyone else seen it? Thoughts?
I also love how the movie played our expectations. When we see the protagonist 'past' that took place before the movie; and how they used it to the story advantage. Cause when you see those scenes you think they are 'flashbacks' when they are not. I love the fact that it was the 'weapon' everyone kept talking about.
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