[Hutnicks]

Have you seen the original movies?

Well the thing there is Luke was a hapless bumpkin who had some native talent but needed to be taught by a professional (the Force thing apparently having some genetic component but not nearly enough). The original had two masters fighting it out.
 
 You get to the rehash of False Awakenings and boom, pick up a light sabre and you're an instant expert no fuss no messy learning curve that needs two films to exposit just bam there you are. One sabre weilding bad arse served up instantly, and by the by would you like fries with that? The perfect fast food SW film it was, merely the whopper with cheese and a few condiments so you don't confuse it with just the plain old burger.
 
The Death Star flaw never really gets explained until Rogue happened, up till then it sure appeared that the Rebels figured it out all by themselves after looking at the plans. Plotwise it was always the weak spot in the original.
 
 I'm wetting myself waiting for the house of mouse to get with the program and have the Death Dyson Sphere for the next film.

 

[bavinck]

Well the thing there is Luke was a hapless bumpkin who had some native talent but needed to be taught by a professional (the Force thing apparently having some genetic component but not nearly enough). The original had two masters fighting it out.

 You get to the rehash of False Awakenings and boom, pick up a light sabre and you're an instant expert no fuss no messy learning curve that needs two films to exposit just bam there you are. One sabre weilding bad arse served up instantly, and by the by would you like fries with that? The perfect fast food SW film it was, merely the whopper with cheese and a few condiments so you don't confuse it with just the plain old burger.

The Death Star flaw never really gets explained until Rogue happened, up till then it sure appeared that the Rebels figured it out all by themselves after looking at the plans. Plotwise it was always the weak spot in the original.

 I'm wetting myself waiting for the house of mouse to get with the program and have the Death Dyson Sphere for the next film.

Exactly.

 

[metalsonata]

Star Wars: Rogue One (2016): 7/10
 
I found that the back-half of the film almost entirely redeemed the bloated and scattered first-half, though some serious problems remained (the characters, mostly). Other problems include its frequent clunky callbacks to the original trilogy, the score (which never felt like it came into its own), cringe-worthy dialogue spoken by actors who lack the charisma needed to sell it, and the unconvincing CGI resurrection of one dead actor and the restoration of youth to another. Still lots of good things though: the film was funnier than I thought it would be, it was rather refreshing to go for nearly the entire film without seeing a lightsaber used once, I liked how the Rebellion was shown to not quite be the spotless good guys that the original trilogy would have us believe they are, the tie-in to the prequel trilogy was well-done and finally answered the question about the Death Star's massive weakness, and Vader's final scene would have honestly been enough to redeem the entire movie for me even if the rest of the movie had been completely unbearable.
 
Still, Disney has yet to prove to me that these new Star Wars movies are adding anything truly worthwhile to the canon--but I suppose the cash in their pockets is all the proof they need. 

 

[SHAMuuu]

Its Complicated 6.75/10
 
Man this movie sucked. This is why star actors get the big bucks. Streep and Baldwin made this stinker watchable kinda. To waste their talents on this, but they also saved it. Also Steve Martin was in it!
 
There were some verrrry cheeesy moments. This is no Rebecca (1940) Go Watch Rebecca

 

[SHAMuuu]

Barfly 8.5/10
 
One of the most underrated 80's flicks i've seen it few times. Best to watch when feeling down, and gets better each time. IMDB 7.3 not relflective of this masterpiece.
 

 

[tdockweiler]

Infiltrator - 6.5/10
 
Not sure what was going on half the time. This one had so much potential to be something so much better.
Sometimes I felt like I was just watching Bryan Cranston talk to random people the entire movie and not much else.
The way they told the story just ruined it for me. It's almost like I have to read the book to figure out what was going on.
 
During the movie at one point I thought I was watching a foreign film without subtitles.
 
Only good thing about this really is the acting.
John Leguizamo did really well in this too. Wish he had been in a large role.
Are there any better films about similar subjects? Mainly drug cartels and not really the mafia etc.
 
 
The Shawshank Redemption - 10/10
 
If I had to name my #1 all time favorite Hollywood film, this would be it. I think it's as perfect as you can get.
It's not one I could watch dozens of times per year though.
 
I don't know how many times i've seen this, but i'm guessing at least 2 dozen times.

 

[Hutnicks]

Took the holiday break to catch up on M Robot as it keeps getting recomended to me. While this is a movie thread I have to look at this one as a 48 hour film simply due to the continuity issues.
 
So without further ado the nut(shell) review is simply Donnie Darko goes to Twin Peaks and meets up with Tyler Durden only to make a pact with American Psycho to perform Antitrust. We will skip over sis's Johnny Mnemonic traits for the time being.If bug eyed actors are your thing this series is only missing Marty Feldmans presence
 
 Cannot really recommend this easily as the overall dark timbre can really be off putting. I sincerely hope this series lasts as long as the Trump administration as the overall theme of emerging electronic money is going to become pressure point relevant in the next 18 months. Those able to read between the lines(head) will be scared witless with an S simply observing this series.
 
It's 11/10 for brilliance and 5/10 for entertainment, this is a thinking creatures entertainment, Marvel aficionados will be stopped dead in the first 30 seconds.
 
Oh yea. PS the OST for this one will appeal to anyone who enjoyed Tangerine Dreams heydays. This is THE dark techno for the new millenium.
 
 Better bet is Man in the High Castle series 2. Simply put the best PKD adaptation ever, and yet  it owes very little to Dick in the second season, go figure

 

 

[bavinck]

Took the holiday break to catch up on M Robot as it keeps getting recomended to me. While this is a movie thread I have to look at this one as a 48 hour film simply due to the continuity issues.

So without further ado the nut(shell) review is simply Donnie Darko goes to Twin Peaks and meets up with Tyler Durden only to make a pact with American Psycho to perform Antitrust. We will skip over sis's Johnny Mnemonic traits for the time being.If bug eyed actors are your thing this series is only missing Marty Feldmans presence

 Cannot really recommend this easily as the overall dark timbre can really be off putting. I sincerely hope this series lasts as long as the Trump administration as the overall theme of emerging electronic money is going to become pressure point relevant in the next 18 months. Those able to read between the lines(head) will be scared witless with an S simply observing this series.

It's 11/10 for brilliance and 5/10 for entertainment, this is a thinking creatures entertainment, Marvel aficionados will be stopped dead in the first 30 seconds.

Oh yea. PS the OST for this one will appeal to anyone who enjoyed Tangerine Dreams heydays. This is THE dark techno for the new millenium.

 Better bet is Man in the High Castle series 2. Simply put the best PKD adaptation ever, and yet  it owes very little to Dick in the second season, go figure:basshead:  

In terms of film making, I think Mr robot is brilliant. So many layers, subtleties and depth. The cinematography alone is something to consider. I don't find it too dark, but I do like cerebral and introspective, which this is. Best to watch this one all together, as you say, Becuase the complexity of the story telling can be hard to follow broken up.

 

[WraithApe]

  Took the holiday break to catch up on M Robot as it keeps getting recomended to me. While this is a movie thread I have to look at this one as a 48 hour film simply due to the continuity issues.
 
So without further ado the nut(shell) review is simply Donnie Darko goes to Twin Peaks and meets up with Tyler Durden only to make a pact with American Psycho to perform Antitrust. We will skip over sis's Johnny Mnemonic traits for the time being.If bug eyed actors are your thing this series is only missing Marty Feldmans presence
 
 Cannot really recommend this easily as the overall dark timbre can really be off putting. I sincerely hope this series lasts as long as the Trump administration as the overall theme of emerging electronic money is going to become pressure point relevant in the next 18 months. Those able to read between the lines(head) will be scared witless with an S simply observing this series.
 
It's 11/10 for brilliance and 5/10 for entertainment, this is a thinking creatures entertainment, Marvel aficionados will be stopped dead in the first 30 seconds.
 
Oh yea. PS the OST for this one will appeal to anyone who enjoyed Tangerine Dreams heydays. This is THE dark techno for the new millenium.

 
I'd rate it a lot higher than 5 for entertainment personally - more like an 8 - but then I'm a big fan of the show. Strangely, the darkness of its tone never really crossed my mind until discussing it with @vwinter, who said something similar. I think it loses impetus somewhat in the second season and I wasn't a fan of Esmail's stab at his own "Fly" episode (Breaking Bad reference!) but the writing and acting are top notch, especially in the first season, which is compulsive viewing. And yes, the soundtrack is cracking - right up my street.

 

[Hutnicks]

In terms of film making, I think Mr robot is brilliant. So many layers, subtleties and depth. The cinematography alone is something to consider. I don't find it too dark, but I do like cerebral and introspective, which this is. Best to watch this one all together, as you say, Becuase the complexity of the story telling can be hard to follow broken up.

Agree whole cpuidly on all points. The structure evokes Ridley Scott at his former best and presents an image or images where no single performer really protrudes, it demands to be viewed (overviewd) as a whole rather than piecemeal. Had I not waited until I could do the whole thing at a go I suspect I would have abandoned the effort and that would have been a crying shame.

 

[Hutnicks]

In terms of film making, I think Mr robot is brilliant. So many layers, subtleties and depth. The cinematography alone is something to consider. I don't find it too dark, but I do like cerebral and introspective, which this is. Best to watch this one all together, as you say, Becuase the complexity of the story telling can be hard to follow broken up.

Agree whole cpuidly on all points. The structure evokes Ridley Scott at his former best and presents an image or images where no single performer really protrudes, it demands to be viewed (overviewd) as a whole rather than piecemeal. Had I not waited until I could do the whole thing at a go I suspect I would have abandoned the effort and that would have been a crying shame.

   
I'd rate it a lot higher than 5 for entertainment personally - more like an 8 - but then I'm a big fan of the show. Strangely, the darkness of its tone never really crossed my mind until discussing it with @vwinter, who said something similar. I think it loses impetus somewhat in the second season and I wasn't a fan of Esmail's stab at his own "Fly" episode (Breaking Bad reference!) but the writing and acting are top notch, especially in the first season, which is compulsive viewing. And yes, the soundtrack is cracking - right up my street.

OK now I am getting rather flipped here. When replying to Bavnick I got an "You have already submitted this post" message. I went to reply to yours ApesofWrath, and you see here what I got (no I did not hit the multi option anywhere)  So if my Dad resurrects himself and shows up my next post may well be from Bedlam 0)
 
 Season two I think took on too much exposition for its own good. That makes me think it was pressured by perhaps the threat of not getting a season 3 contract? The darkness is there. The trade does not see it as it is very much business as usual down that street but viewed from an end users perspective it can be suffocating. Personally with the savvy writing I really would love to see them do a complete and utter rip on Seinfelds "Soup Nazi" it just begs for a treatment here.

 

[bavinck]

I'd rate it a lot higher than 5 for entertainment personally - more like an 8 - but then I'm a big fan of the show. Strangely, the darkness of its tone never really crossed my mind until discussing it with @vwinter
, who said something similar. I think it loses impetus somewhat in the second season and I wasn't a fan of Esmail's stab at his own "Fly" episode (Breaking Bad reference!) but the writing and acting are top notch, especially in the first season, which is compulsive viewing. And yes, the soundtrack is cracking - right up my street.

I see your argument about season 2. However, I think what Esmail is doing with narration and involving the passive viewer into the personality complex of the protagonist is going to be legendary and influential in future work. I suspect we will look back at this approach to narrative film making and see it as really unique. Imo season 2 does even more to expand the issue of perspective and the problem of reality than season 1 did.

If this doesn't get a season 3 it will be a damning critique on the state of modern day viewers.

 

[Hutnicks]

I see your argument about season 2. However, I think what Esmail is doing with narration and involving the passive viewer into the personality complex of the protagonist is going to be legendary and influential in future work. I suspect we will look back at this approach to narrative film making and see it as really unique. Imo season 2 does even more to expand the issue of perspective and the problem of reality than season 1 did.

If this doesn't get a season 3 it will be a damning critique on the state of modern day viewers.

While I was going to let this pass until the directed poster replied the point you make actually two points, I believe warrant the response.
 
  While the hype is to go to VR headsets and "Immersion Programming" Esmail drove the nail in by using that exact device and making the series appear to have interaction with the viewer. Brilliant little device which took a time honoured film device and pushed it just over the edge enough to freshen it up for the new era.
 
 This would not be the first series to have the rug pulled out from under it. What it did do where others failed was set itself up for a series of Film adaptations to cover the story arc's. That in itself leads me to believe it will go a third season. The threat of, "Well okay, HBO will pick us up and do it in 3 feature length installments" may well be a huge lever in the producers hands. It would seem they have applied in reality the leverage their storytelling alludes to on screen
 
  I hope that at some future point Slater writes a book detailing the whole odyssey of building this one.

 

[bavinck]

While I was going to let this pass until the directed poster replied the point you make actually two points, I believe warrant the response.

  While the hype is to go to VR headsets and "Immersion Programming" Esmail drove the nail in by using that exact device and making the series appear to have interaction with the viewer. Brilliant little device which took a time honoured film device and pushed it just over the edge enough to freshen it up for the new era.

 This would not be the first series to have the rug pulled out from under it. What it did do where others failed was set itself up for a series of Film adaptations to cover the story arc's. That in itself leads me to believe it will go a third season. The threat of, "Well okay, HBO will pick us up and do it in 3 feature length installments" may well be a huge lever in the producers hands. It would seem they have applied in reality the leverage their storytelling alludes to on screen

  I hope that at some future point Slater writes a book detailing the whole odyssey of building this one.

Spoiler:
And the way he did it is brilliant. In season 1 we get the sense the protagonist is narrating to us in a neat way. Then slowly as his multiple personality disorder (or schizophrenia?) start to reveal themselves into season 2 the viewer wonders: am I a personality? Am I the protagonist? What exactly is my role here? Just brilliant!

End spoiler.

 

[SHAMuuu]

  Infiltrator - 6.5/10
 
Not sure what was going on half the time. This one had so much potential to be something so much better.
Sometimes I felt like I was just watching Bryan Cranston talk to random people the entire movie and not much else.
The way they told the story just ruined it for me. It's almost like I have to read the book to figure out what was going on.
 
During the movie at one point I thought I was watching a foreign film without subtitles.
 
Only good thing about this really is the acting.
John Leguizamo did really well in this too. Wish he had been in a large role.
Are there any better films about similar subjects? Mainly drug cartels and not really the mafia etc.
 
 
The Shawshank Redemption - 10/10
 
If I had to name my #1 all time favorite Hollywood film, this would be it. I think it's as perfect as you can get.
It's not one I could watch dozens of times per year though.
 
I don't know how many times i've seen this, but i'm guessing at least 2 dozen times.

10/10? The closest to 10/10 is The Godfather. I've seen Shawshank several times but i would say for example its behind One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
 
What is it that you like? I'm not asking to be cheeky, just how you view it. I've seen it a few times. My favorite (I must've mentioned countless number of times ) is Vertigo, which I thought was a perfect film because of the way the main character's mind is constantly "burning" when he gets what he wants, to realize what he wanted was fabricated (his fantasy woman)
 
I would like your insight on the film if possible thanks
 
 
*** 9 1/2 weeks.... 7/10
 
I didn't think it was a masterpiece and anticipated a cheesy erotic film, but b/c of its time, and Basinger/Rourke chemistry, its not as bad as some of the other ones that came after it which were insanely cheesy semi-erotic flicks with dominating males and submissive females, though i prefer femme fatale types as they are insanely difficult to execute; Hitchcock speciality,; and, and i dont mean a Kill Bill Uma / Pulp Fiction Uma, but even the distressed/vulnerable looking icy types, which make the man insane lol like in real life when gf/wives make you crazy