Spoilers What Movie Are You Watching?

[Queen6]

You’ve convinced me to give this a pass. Brad Pitt, and thinking about George Clooney are both up front negatives. I can handle slow burns as long as there is a payoff. Just don’t say I’m not intellectual enough.

Ad Astra is a strange one indeed, it's more about relationship and self discovery than anything else. Beautifully shot, with a level of intrigue that unravels very slowly and yet the film interjects near random action events that seem totally out of place. Such as pirates on the moon and apes in space that attack on sight. Ad Astra is like someone wanted to do a 2001 and or Solaris, and someone else wanted to do Pirates & Space Monkeys, then a third stitched it all together Visually impressive, logic bombs abound, intellectual challenging no...

Little like Underwater best watched without too much thought, although Underwater is happy to be what it is, an easy watch action flick with decent enough effects that totally bends reality in far from convincing manner...

Q-6

 

[D.T.]

Ad Astra is a strange one indeed, it's more about relationship and self discovery than anything else. Beautifully shot, with a level of intrigue that unravels very slowly and yet the film interjects near random action events that seem totally out of place. Such as pirates on the moon and apes in space that attack on sight. Ad Astra is like someone wanted to do a 2001 and or Solaris, and someone else wanted to do Pirates & Space Monkeys, then a third stitched it all together Visually impressive, logic bombs abound, intellectual challenging no...

Little like Underwater best watched without too much thought, although Underwater is happy to be what it is, an easy watch action flick with decent enough effects that totally bends reality in far from convincing manner...

Q-6

I think the random action scenes were a call back to 50s scifi, where the galant crew went careening across space, encountering kooky planets and zany aliens.

It's __way__ better than Underwater, they're not even in the same headspace.
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You’ve convinced me to give this a pass. Brad Pitt, and thinking about George Clooney are both up front negatives. I can handle slow burns as long as there is a payoff. Just don’t say I’m not intellectual enough.

Pitt is very good in this, and he's fantastic in 12 Monkeys, Seven, Fight Club, Inglourious Basterds, Moneyball, Burn After Reading, the Big Short and just kills it in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
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We've been having a bit of a Scorsese-a-thon this weekend Some watched, some in the queue.

- Goodfellas
- Casino
- Cape Fear
- The Departed
- Wolf of Wall Street

I realize he's a bit of a hack, but he has a few good flicks ...

 

[0128672]

Huntn said:
You’ve convinced me to give this a pass. Brad Pitt, and thinking about George Clooney are both up front negatives. I can handle slow burns as long as there is a payoff. Just don’t say I’m not intellectual enough.

Pitt is very good in this, and he's fantastic in 12 Monkeys, Seven, Fight Club, Inglourious Basterds, Moneyball, Burn After Reading, the Big Short and just kills it in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

Yes, to those Pitt flix, and I'll watch George Clooney in Three Kings, The Perfect Storm, and Michael Clayton any day.

 

[millerj123]

Tolkien. I'm a fan of the books and movie adaptations, but much like the books, this movie was good, but slow and dark.

 

[D.T.]

Yes, to those Pitt flix, and I'll watch George Clooney in Three Kings, The Perfect Storm, and Michael Clayton any day.

Check, Check.

I'd add for Clooney:

O Brother, Where Art Thou? [Also] Burn After Reading, Good Night, And Good Luck (that featured awesome director work).

 

[Queen6]

I think the random action scenes were a call back to 50s scifi, where the galant crew went careening across space, encountering kooky planets and zany aliens.

It's __way__ better than Underwater, they're not even in the same headspace.
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Pitt is very good in this, and he's fantastic in 12 Monkeys, Seven, Fight Club, Inglourious Basterds, Moneyball, Burn After Reading, the Big Short and just kills it in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
[automerge]1593369714[/automerge]
We've been having a bit of a Scorsese-a-thon this weekend Some watched, some in the queue.

- Goodfellas
- Casino
- Cape Fear
- The Departed
- Wolf of Wall Street

I realize he's a bit of a hack, but he has a few good flicks ...

True, equally Underwater not trying to be something it's not. Ad Astra is trying to be deep & poignant, yet comes across as being just plain off due to the unbalanced nature of the film. Ad Astra is well acted and beautifully shot, yet fails to convince on several levels.

I do like Ad Astra, just it seems to miss the point, bit like reading a good novel that suddenly on the next turn of the page has a random cartoon pop up. Not that this cant be done effectively, more that Ad Astra fails to do so taking much of the impact of the father, son relationship and self realisation of the lead.

Anyway I've little room to talk as the player just served up Dog Soldiers and I like this one LOL.

Q-6

 

[D.T.]

True, equally Underwater not trying to be something it's not. Ad Astra is trying to be deep & poignant, yet comes across as being just plain off due to the unbalanced nature of the film. Ad Astra is well acted and beautifully shot, yet fails to convince on several levels.

I do like Ad Astra, just it seems to miss the point, bit like reading a good novel that suddenly on the next turn of the page has a random cartoon pop up. Not that this cant be done effectively, more that Ad Astra fails to do so taking much of the impact of the father, son relationship and self realisation of the lead.

Anyway I've little room to talk as the player just served up Dog Soldiers and I like this one LOL.

Yeah, it hasn't quite settled with me how far Ad Astra might be up its own rear end Though the Father/Son thing really resonated with me (even if it winds up being a bit superficial ...)

I love Dog Soldiers, did a nice job of flipping the genre on its head And I really do like Neil Marshall's work, especially his spectacular GOT episodes.

 

[Huntn]

I think the random action scenes were a call back to 50s scifi, where the galant crew went careening across space, encountering kooky planets and zany aliens.

It's __way__ better than Underwater, they're not even in the same headspace.
[automerge]1593369314[/automerge]


Pitt is very good in this, and he's fantastic in 12 Monkeys, Seven, Fight Club, Inglourious Basterds, Moneyball, Burn After Reading, the Big Short and just kills it in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
[automerge]1593369714[/automerge]
We've been having a bit of a Scorsese-a-thon this weekend Some watched, some in the queue.

- Goodfellas
- Casino
- Cape Fear
- The Departed
- Wolf of Wall Street

I realize he's a bit of a hack, but he has a few good flicks ...

12 Monkeys is good, but there are zero movies in this world I’m drawn to because Brad Pitt is in it. That’s just how it is. I understand you disagree. 😉

 

[S.B.G]

I saw someone say 12 Monkeys (1995) so I put that on. Good flick!

 

[Thomas Veil]

My criteria for sequels is pretty high. Aside from the usual qualities such as good acting:

• It should have several scenes which recall the original without directly copying it.
• It should be a legitimate continuation of the story, not just a money grab.
• Its continuity with the original should be true. (Don't say one thing in one movie and something else in the sequel.)
• Most of all, it should feel right. Cinematography, acting, story, music, etc. should be very much in the style of the original.

And damn if "Doctor Sleep" doesn't meet all of those.

Holy **** that's a scary movie. 😨

All the things they did right: they didn't turn Danny Torrance into a different kind of person, they had pretty good lookalike actors for Jack and Wendy and especially Dick Halloran, who sounded unbelievably like Scatman Crothers. The "Shine" was still the thrust of the story and it eventually took us back to the Overlook. Rose the Hat was genuinely creepy. And the scene in Dr. John's office is a beautiful callback to Stuart Ullman's office from "The Shining"; even Bruce Greenwood's gestures are similar to Ullman's. And the scene where "Baseball Boy" is murdered is disturbing--deeply so, hearing him crying and pleading for his life--without being gratuitously gory.

Like the original, we hear heartbeat sounds throughout the film, and when see the overhead driving shots they are set to "The Shining" theme. The cherry on top is the end credits, once again played to "Midnight, the Stars and You", with wind howling long after the song is over.

Oh--and they successfully walked the fine line between honoring the Stanley Kubrick version of the story, and keeping Stephen King happy.

Excellent job!

Ad Astra is a strange one indeed, it's more about relationship and self discovery than anything else. Beautifully shot, with a level of intrigue that unravels very slowly and yet the film interjects near random action events that seem totally out of place. Such as pirates on the moon and apes in space that attack on sight. Ad Astra is like someone wanted to do a 2001 and or Solaris, and someone else wanted to do Pirates & Space Monkeys, then a third stitched it all together Visually impressive, logic bombs abound, intellectual challenging no...

The space pirates thing puzzled me until Roy talks about bringing the same problems we have on Earth with us out into the universe. The monkey part...yeah, I agree with you there.

 

[Mefisto]

My criteria for sequels is pretty high. Aside from the usual qualities such as good acting:

• It should have several scenes which recall the original without directly copying it.
• It should be a legitimate continuation of the story, not just a money grab.
• Its continuity with the original should be true. (Don't say one thing in one movie and something else in the sequel.)
• Most of all, it should feel right. Cinematography, acting, story, music, etc. should be very much in the style of the original.

And damn if "Doctor Sleep" doesn't meet all of those.

<img src="https://forums.macrumors.com/attachments/1593388671199-jpeg.928832/" data-url="" class="bbImage" data-zoom-target="1" alt="1593388671199.jpeg" style="" />​

Holy **** that's a scary movie. 😨

All the things they did right: they didn't turn Danny Torrance into a different kind of person, they had pretty good lookalike actors for Jack and Wendy and especially Dick Halloran, who sounded unbelievably like Scatman Crothers. The "Shine" was still the thrust of the story and it eventually took us back to the Overlook. Rose the Hat was genuinely creepy. And the scene in Dr. John's office is a beautiful callback to Stuart Ullman's office from "The Shining"; even Bruce Greenwood's gestures are similar to Ullman's. And the scene where "Baseball Boy" is murdered is disturbing--deeply so, hearing him crying and pleading for his life--without being gratuitously gory.

Like the original, we hear heartbeat sounds throughout the film, and when see the overhead driving shots they are set to "The Shining" theme. The cherry on top is the end credits, once again played to "Midnight, the Stars and You", with wind howling long after the song is over.

Oh--and they successfully walked the fine line between honoring the Stanley Kubrick version of the story, and keeping Stephen King happy.

Excellent job!

Agreed. The cast was good all in all, but Rebecca Ferguson really did do a great job in her role. I might have let out an excited "squee" during the scene in Dr. John's office.

 

[LizKat]

Patricia Rozema's 1999 take on Mansfield Park again while it's still streaming on Netflix. So witty and understated, I find it irresistible and (mostly) not really unfaithful to Austen, no matter that it's a cross between the novel and some of Austen's letters and other writings. Anyway I find it great summer fare.

​

 

[Huntn]

My Spy (2020)- Amazon Prime, 51% RT Critics. I like Dave Batista from Guardians Of The Galaxy and Blade Runner 2049 and this is an attempt at a leading role in a comedy, in all his tat glory, a CIA operative assigned to watch a woman and her child linked to a terrorist. I liked it, it’s light, enjoyable not very realistic, and rips off a couple of other movies, but who cares? He has an onscreen personality I like.

​

 

[D.T.]

12 Monkeys is good, but there are zero movies in this world I’m drawn to because Brad Pitt is in it. That’s just how it is. I understand you disagree. 😉

I wouldn’t say I pursue a film _because_ of Brad Pitt, its more driven by subject matter, story, genre, director, writer, the entire cast, and sometimes the latter happens to include Pitt - and in some of those instances, he simply fantastic. I was barely aware Pitt was in Snatch, but he killed it and I tracked it down because Guy Ritchie

 

[Huntn]

I wouldn’t say I pursue a film _because_ of Brad Pitt, its more driven by subject matter, story, genre, director, writer, the entire cast, and sometimes the latter happens to include Pitt - and in some of those instances, he simply fantastic. I was barely aware Pitt was in Snatch, but he killed it and I tracked it down because Guy Ritchie

I sense a divergence in the celluloid. You can say Lock, Stock and TSB has some action style, but Guy Ritchie slaughtered Sherlock Holmes, his signature directing style is so adverse to such a story. It would really take some arm twisting for me to be dragged to another one of his movies.

 

[Huntn]

My criteria for sequels is pretty high. Aside from the usual qualities such as good acting:

• It should have several scenes which recall the original without directly copying it.
• It should be a legitimate continuation of the story, not just a money grab.
• Its continuity with the original should be true. (Don't say one thing in one movie and something else in the sequel.)
• Most of all, it should feel right. Cinematography, acting, story, music, etc. should be very much in the style of the original.

And damn if "Doctor Sleep" doesn't meet all of those.

View attachment 928832​

Holy **** that's a scary movie. 😨

All the things they did right: they didn't turn Danny Torrance into a different kind of person, they had pretty good lookalike actors for Jack and Wendy and especially Dick Halloran, who sounded unbelievably like Scatman Crothers. The "Shine" was still the thrust of the story and it eventually took us back to the Overlook. Rose the Hat was genuinely creepy. And the scene in Dr. John's office is a beautiful callback to Stuart Ullman's office from "The Shining"; even Bruce Greenwood's gestures are similar to Ullman's. And the scene where "Baseball Boy" is murdered is disturbing--deeply so, hearing him crying and pleading for his life--without being gratuitously gory.

Like the original, we hear heartbeat sounds throughout the film, and when see the overhead driving shots they are set to "The Shining" theme. The cherry on top is the end credits, once again played to "Midnight, the Stars and You", with wind howling long after the song is over.

Oh--and they successfully walked the fine line between honoring the Stanley Kubrick version of the story, and keeping Stephen King happy.

Excellent job!


The space pirates thing puzzled me until Roy talks about bringing the same problems we have on Earth with us out into the universe. The monkey part...yeah, I agree with you there.

I completely missed this and as a Shining sequel, there is no way I would voluntarily do so. I’ll have to try it. 😀

 

[Queen6]

Quatermass and the Pit (1967)

Alright for it genre, time and place, however not a patch on the superb 1958 BBC rendition.

My version is an old BBC direct that was edited into a single feature. It's a long watch at 3-1/2 hours, however thoroughly engaging and never gets old. More so Quatermass and the Pit works surprisingly well as a feature film which is a credit to the production of the time. Was a triple film box set with The Quatermass Experiment (1953), Quatermass II (1955) & Quatermass and the Pit (1958)


Q-6

 

[Thomas Veil]

Quatermass and the Pit (1967)
View attachment 928963
Alright for it genre, time and place, however not a patch on the superb 1958 BBC rendition.

Insecticide aliens with stored psychokinetic abilities. Sounds lame on paper, but that was one creepy movie.

 

[Queen6]

Insecticide aliens with stored psychokinetic abilities. Sounds lame on paper, but that was one creepy movie.

Kind of get's under the skin 😎 As I say the 1958 version is the one to watch as the story is just so much more expansive & deeper.

Q-6

 

[D.T.]

I sense a divergence in the celluloid. You can say Lock, Stock and TSB has some action style, but Guy Ritchie slaughtered Sherlock Holmes, his signature directing style is so adverse to such a story. It would really take some arm twisting for me to be dragged to another one of his movies.

My example wasn't to go off an a tangent and critique Ritchie, I could've said "British Crime Comedy", I could've said the Coen Brothers. My point: if you recall the earlier conversation - was that I don't necessarily pursue a film because Pitt is in it (as you indicated above), often times there's other attributes I'm drawn to, and he just happens to be the/one of the stars.

i.e.,

"A new film starring Brad Pitt".

I'm ambivalent.

"A new sci-fi film from Denis Villeneuve based on the work of William Gibson".

Wow, I'm interested, if it happens to star Pitt? Great. If not, also great.
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Kind of get's under the skin 😎 As I say the 1958 version is the one to watch as the story is just so much more expansive & deeper.

Q-6

Oh yeah, I've never seen the '58 TV production, I am a huge fan of the '67 movie, I saw it under the US title, Five Million Years to Earth, but great and creepy, and I guess this is spoiler-ish[?], I'll keep it non-specific, but the alien's impact on the human subconscious, what they came to represent, just unsettling.

 

[Queen6]

Oh yeah, I've never seen the '58 TV production, I am a huge fan of the '67 movie, I saw it under the US title, Five Million Years to Earth, but great and creepy, and I guess this is spoiler-ish[?], I'll keep it non-specific, but the alien's impact on the human subconscious, what they came to represent, just unsettling.

If you like the 67 film, you'll be blown away by the 58 version, is more unsettling again, very well done for the time.

Q-6

 

[Thomas Veil]

LOL. I’m a little slow on the uptake. I just realized the reason for the howling wind at the end of “Doctor Sleep”. It’s not just to sound spooky.

Spoiler

It’s another callback to the original film. They both have almost identical closing credits, except that in “The Shining“, the song “Midnight, the Stars and You” is followed by the murmuring of party guests—the ghosts who remain at the Overlook Hotel. In “Doctor Sleep”, the same song is followed by the howling wind. The significance becomes obvious—the ghosts are gone.

I mentioned that the director, Mike Flanagan, was very determined to thread the needle between satisfying fans of Kubrick’s movie and satisfying Stephen King, who famously hates Kubrick’s movie. To that end, he invited him to a pre-release screening of the completed “Doctor Sleep”.

I don’t know if you’ve heard the story, but as they were watching the movie together, Flanagan kept looking over at King for reactions, clues as to how he was receiving it. King sat rather stone faced through the entire movie. Flanagan supposedly sunk further in his chair thinking, “Omigod. He doesn’t like it. I’m dead!”

At the end when the lights went on, King turned to Flanagan and said, “You did good, kid.”

 

[hawkeye_a]

American Pie(1999) & American Pie 2(2001)
Hilarious, with awesome soundtracks.

 

[Huntn]

My example wasn't to go off an a tangent and critique Ritchie, I could've said "British Crime Comedy", I could've said the Coen Brothers. My point: if you recall the earlier conversation - was that I don't necessarily pursue a film because Pitt is in it (as you indicated above), often times there's other attributes I'm drawn to, and he just happens to be the/one of the stars.

i.e.,

"A new film starring Brad Pitt".

I'm ambivalent.

"A new sci-fi film from Denis Villeneuve based on the work of William Gibson".

Wow, I'm interested, if it happens to star Pitt? Great. If not, also great.
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Oh yeah, I've never seen the '58 TV production, I am a huge fan of the '67 movie, I saw it under the US title, Five Million Years to Earth, but great and creepy, and I guess this is spoiler-ish[?], I'll keep it non-specific, but the alien's impact on the human subconscious, what they came to represent, just unsettling.

I’ll agree I necessarily don’t want to see a movie because of an actor, but the lead along with the director serves as a filter in my judgement as to the odds I’ll like said movie. Tell me Guy Ritchie directed anything supposed to be subtle based on slow burn source material and I’d have to see some knock out reviews to get me to consider it.

 

[yaxomoxay]

American Pie(1999) & American Pie 2(2001)
Hilarious, with awesome soundtracks.

The videotape scene will always, always make me laugh to a painful point.
My teenage kids loved the AP movies, which tells a lot about how good these comedies are (although they didn't really get the webcam scene in which the kid had to run from one house to the other to see the video...)
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LOL. I’m a little slow on the uptake. I just realized the reason for the howling wind at the end of “Doctor Sleep”. It’s not just to sound spooky.

Spoiler

It’s another callback to the original film. They both have almost identical closing credits, except that in “The Shining“, the song “Midnight, the Stars and You” is followed by the murmuring of party guests—the ghosts who remain at the Overlook Hotel. In “Doctor Sleep”, the same song is followed by the howling wind. The significance becomes obvious—the ghosts are gone.

I mentioned that the director, Mike Flanagan, was very determined to thread the needle between satisfying fans of Kubrick’s movie and satisfying Stephen King, who famously hates Kubrick’s movie. To that end, he invited him to a pre-release screening of the completed “Doctor Sleep”.

I don’t know if you’ve heard the story, but as they were watching the movie together, Flanagan kept looking over at King for reactions, clues as to how he was receiving it. King sat rather stone faced through the entire movie. Flanagan supposedly sunk further in his chair thinking, “Omigod. He doesn’t like it. I’m dead!”

At the end when the lights went on, King turned to Flanagan and said, “You did good, kid.”

Doctor Sleep is quite a good sequel; it's obviously nothing like Kubrick's movie, but it's also clear that Doctor Sleep doesn't even try to be a "Kubrick-like" movie. I think that Flanagan was indeed very smart in how he approached the whole thing. I can't say I am totally happy with the final 10/15 minutes as it felt rushed, but it did the job nonetheless.