We have a bunch of single threads for individual movies, but I've always liked the roundup thread to get a quick overview of movies I might have missed.
So far I've seen
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 - IMAX 3D - really enjoyed it, although not as much as the first one
Wonder Woman - IMAX 3D - really, really enjoyed it - movie of the summer thus far
Spider-Man Homecoming - IMAX 3D - just a step below Wonder Woman
Baby Driver - Standard - I liked it right up until the ending. Really, really disliked the ending.
Despicable Me 3 - Standard - ok, not as fun as the first two
War for the Planet of the Apes - 3D - very good - 3D is unnecessary
Dunkirk - IMAX - amazing sound. Worth seeing but not the best war movie I've ever seen
The Big Sick - Standard - really enjoyed it (see review below)
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets - 3D - meh. Rent it if you've got nothing better to do. Maybe.
Atomic Blonde - Standard. Very interesting and worth seeing. A lot of the fighting is close up, so I don't know that the big screen is a must.
Hitman's Bodyguard - Standard (and free!). A few funny lines, a bunch of dead people, and plenty of car chases, but logically a mess. Rental at best.
For the rest of the year, I'm also interested
The Dark Tower - maybe, never read a Stephen King book
The Lego Ninjago Movie
American Made - Tom Cruise!
American Sniper
Flatliners - maybe, liked the original
The Foreigner
Thor: Ragnarok
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Maybe for the kids
Emoji Movie
Last edited by stessier on Thu Aug 10, 2017 12:17 pm, edited 3 times in total.
You might have just snagged the coveted #10 spot in OOers I must meet. I have no idea how you've never managed to read a Stephen King book. That seems...insane.
At the risk of sounding like JeffV, I've come to really loathe going to the movie theater - mainly because of other people. I do miss seeing movies, but every time I go I want to choke the life out of someone that's on their phone.
I really want to go see The Dark Tower, but I'm not sure I'll be able to swing it. Likely, it would take overwhelming positive reviews to get me there, but likely not until it's in the theater a few weeks and I can go on some random weekday.
You might have just snagged the coveted #10 spot in OOers I must meet. I have no idea how you've never managed to read a Stephen King book. That seems...insane.
I'm not a fan of horror, so it never appealed to me. I think I've only seen two of his movies - Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. Not sure if either are based on a book though.
Smoove_B wrote:At the risk of sounding like JeffV, I've come to really loathe going to the movie theater - mainly because of other people. I do miss seeing movies, but every time I go I want to choke the life out of someone that's on their phone.
I've been to about 5 movies this summer and have had no such problem. I'm just going to assume it's NJ people. It's either that or having two kids has improved my patience. Maybe a little of each.
stessier wrote:I think I've only seen two of his movies - Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. Not sure if either are based on a book though.
They are and both are good books. Check out his pseudonym Richard Bachman. Some of these Bachman books were made into movies you might recognize without realizing they were based on Stephen King stories. All of them are excellent reading.
Rage (1977)
The Long Walk (1979)
Roadwork (1981)
The Running Man (1982)
Thinner (1984)
The Regulators (1996)
Blaze (2007)
"The world is suffering more today from the good people who want to mind other men's business than it is from the bad people who are willing to let everybody look after their own individual affairs." - Clarence Darrow
My 7 and 11 year old boys thought it was hilarious. It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. It's pretty similar to the books, if you've been forced to read those.
We go to an actual honest-to-goober movie theater once a year - on my birthday, so I get to pick. This year it will probably be that thing with the apes.
I spent 90% of the money I made on women, booze, and drugs. The other 10% I just pissed away.
So far today I've seen War For the Planet of the Apes, Dunkirk, and just got out of The Big Sick. My favorite is The Big Sick. It's really well done and worth seeing.
There doesn't appear to be separate threads for Apes and The Big Sick.
The War for the Planet of the Apes - I liked it a lot. A lot of heart and feelings poured into this one. A bit derivative of other movies and there's still a question they really didn't answer, but it was a lot of fun to watch in the moment. I'd swear the apes were real. I saw it in 3D, but don't think it really added anything to the experience. Would definitely recommend.
The Big Sick was my favorite movie of the day. I knew nothing about it going in other than a good friend recommended it. It has a very indie movie feel to it in the beginning, but that drops away about 1/3 of the way through, imo, and it just becomes a really good movie. Equal parts funny, heartwarming, and painful - it has it all. I really enjoyed it.
I was bored by Minions and didn't like Despicable 3 - so I guess we cover the gamut.
Saw Atomic Blonde over the weekend. It wasn't what I was expecting, but I still liked it. A lot more of a spy movie than Bourne - although there is still a fair amount of Bourne in there. My wife and I were still talking about it the next morning, so I think it achieved it's goal.
Im only interested in two for the rest of the year. Already saw Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
Bladerunner 2049 - October 6, 2017
Star Wars The Last Jedi - December 15, 2017
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I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake. http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
You might have just snagged the coveted #10 spot in OOers I must meet. I have no idea how you've never managed to read a Stephen King book. That seems...insane.
Same. Seen some movies..wasn't impressed. Wife likes the movies.
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I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake. http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
Daehawk wrote:Same. Seen some movies..wasn't impressed. Wife likes the movies.
I haven't read any of his books/stories either.
However, please tell me that you are not including Shawshank in "wasn't impressed".
To be fair, I didn't even know he wrote fantasy until relatively recently (last decade or so). I thought he just did horror. The latter isn't my bag, but I used to read a lot of fantasy.
Oddly, in the hundreds of used book stores that I've gone to over the years, I don't believe that I've ever seen any of his books in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section. So either stores love to file incorrectly, or no one ever gives up one of the books...
Black Lives Matter
Isgrimnur - Facebook makes you hate your friends and family. LinkedIn makes you hate you co-workers. NextDoor makes you hate your neighbors.
You might have just snagged the coveted #10 spot in OOers I must meet. I have no idea how you've never managed to read a Stephen King book. That seems...insane.
I tried to read a Stephen King novel, I want to the The Shining, but it was so long ago and left no impression on me, so I can't even say that for sure. The impression it did leave was that it was so detail oriented that it bored me to tears and the details never sunk in. I read so slowly, that if a novel doesn't pull me in within 20 or 30 pages (which is often most of evening spent reading), it becomes a job that I'm not getting paid for. So I put it away and never return to it. King, Asimov, Rand, Alan Dean Foster come to mind as people who didn't motivate me to read with the idea that plot and narration drive stories. I did grin and bear reading Rand. That was weeks and weeks of my life I want back. Also both Rand and Asimov wrote very readable non fiction. *shrug*
I'm not sure which was the worst reading of all time for me. a 40 page monologue on burger flipping (Rand) or 30 pages describing how tall and sharp grass can be (Foster). My day is now officially ruined.
I don't get to movies as much as I want to, but of the summer films I've seen:
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2 - Loved this one, probably as much as the first. I'm not a huge fan of origin stories, so I tend to enjoy superhero movies more where they can focus less on explaining characters and more on just spending time with them.
ALIEN: COVENANT - Really enjoyed this one as well, and that's coming from someone who didn't particularly like PROMETHEUS at all. I thought it struck a nice balance between the heavy lore of Prometheus and the action/horror of the Alien films.
WONDER WOMAN - Perhaps the first post-cinematic universe DC movie I've really enjoyed. DC finally stopped taking itself so seriously, and that meant a vastly improved movie. Now hopefully they can continue to strike that tone in future films. My wife loves superhero films, but the combo of female lead and female director made her fall particularly in love with this movie. It was really nice to see her respond to a comic book movie the way I do.
IT COMES AT NIGHT - Despite the critical raves, I really HATED this film. A wave of the new minimalist "artsy" horror trend, I thought this one failed on multiple levels. And I'm not too good to appreciate artsy horror - I loved THE WITCH, for example. However, this movie was not remotely scary, was frustratingly ambiguous, and ultimately failed to deliver upon any of the heavy-handed moral lessons it was trying to convey.
47 METERS DOWN - While billed as a shark movie, this film is much more a general survival flick. While the perfect storm of bad luck that drives the narrative sometimes strains credulity, I actually enjoyed this one a little more than THE SHALLOWS, which is probably the best comparison. Not worth seeing in the theater, but good for a Redbox date night.
SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING - I really loved this movie. This is also the first "adult" movie I've taken my kids to, and they were fantastically well-behaved which made me a proud daddy. I was a big fan of Raimi's Spidey 1 & 2, and disliked the Andrew Garfield films. Tom Holland is my favorite Peter Parker by far, and this film was just a fun-filled adventure that to me perfectly captured the tone of the comic books. It's unfortunate that the well of good Spidey villains has been exhausted in previous films, as a stronger villain would have elevated this one a bit more. That's not to take anything away from Michael Keaton, however, as he was fantastic. Here's hoping Homecoming 2 or whatever they call it comes back bigger and bolder.
There are a bunch I missed I still want to see - Apes, Dunkirk, Baby Driver, etc. The only one still upcoming that I really want to see, however, is ANNABELLE: CREATION. All signs point to it being a vast improvement on the original. I'm hoping this one pulls something similar to OUIJA 2, where they managed to turn the "sequel" into a really fun and frightening prequel.
LordMortis wrote:King, Asimov, Rand, Alan Dean Foster come to mind as people who didn't motivate me to read with the idea that plot and narration drive stories.
i'm reading Asimov's _I, Robot_ right now and the dialogue is so silly - it reads like a kid's cartoon. granted, these were some of his first stories. i was unimpressed with the dialogue in the first three Foundation novels as well, but this is really bad.
LordMortis wrote:King, Asimov, Rand, Alan Dean Foster come to mind as people who didn't motivate me to read with the idea that plot and narration drive stories.
i'm reading Asimov's _I, Robot_ right now and the dialogue is so silly - it reads like a kid's cartoon. granted, these were some of his first stories. i was unimpressed with the dialogue in the first three Foundation novels as well, but this is really bad.
Asimov was a good storyteller and a less-good writer. His female characters in particular sometimes made me wonder if he had ever met a woman. But dialog and characterization were not hallmarks of the Golden Age pulps (with some exceptions, like Bradbury) -- until the New Wave in the 1960s, characters were only there to inhabit the story.
hepcat wrote:I read quite a bit of Stephen King when I was younger, but then I discovered Clive Barker and never looked back.
In my mind I sort horror authors into various tiers. Stephen King is at the top of the pyramid, with folks like Dean Koontz, et al underneath at various levels. And somewhere high above, in orbit over the pyramid, is Clive Barker.
As big a Stephen King fan as I am, he only rules the domain of mainstream pop culture. Barker is at a whole different level of genius.
However, please tell me that you are not including Shawshank in "wasn't impressed".
Never saw it. Not for me. Wife probably watched it. Other than when I was a kid with The Exorcist and Alien scaring me I have always found horror movies funny and laugh through them so quit bother decades ago.
As for Barker I did love the Hellraiser movies and Nightbreed.
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I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake. http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
However, please tell me that you are not including Shawshank in "wasn't impressed".
Never saw it. Not for me. Wife probably watched it. Other than when I was a kid with The Exorcist and Alien scaring me I have always found horror movies funny and laugh through them so quit bother decades ago.
As for Barker I did love the Hellraiser movies and Nightbreed.
You know Shawshank is a drama, right? Not horror. You don't watch dramas?
Black Lives Matter
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hepcat wrote:I read quite a bit of Stephen King when I was younger, but then I discovered Clive Barker and never looked back.
In my mind I sort horror authors into various tiers. Stephen King is at the top of the pyramid, with folks like Dean Koontz, et al underneath at various levels. And somewhere high above, in orbit over the pyramid, is Clive Barker.
As big a Stephen King fan as I am, he only rules the domain of mainstream pop culture. Barker is at a whole different level of genius.
Really? Had no idea. Please suggest his best title so I can check it out.
Carpet_pissr wrote:Really? Had no idea. Please suggest his best title so I can check it out.
My favorite novel of his is probably The Great and Secret Show, but fair warning - his books can be REALLY dense. If you don't want to bite off that big a chunk to start, I'd highly recommend his Books of Blood short story collections as an appetizer. If you want a "lighter" novel (if there is such a thing with Barker), try Weaveworld. It's a good taste of how he incorporates horror and fantasy without getting into his gigantic tomes.
[Edit] Actually Weaveworld is gigantic as well - been awhile since I read it. I'd still recommend it though as I found it a bit more accessible than some of his later stuff.
The Books of Blood series should be the entry point for anyone new to Barker. Ingenious, creative horror that just blew me away when I was younger. The tale of two cities and their ancient war waged via a decidedly unique form of warfare still sticks with me today as one of the most imaginative stories ever written.
I met the man at a horror convention years ago at a special showing of a work print of Nightbreed. He was actually pretty funny. Although not as funny as the great Joe Bob Briggs who I was really there to see.
Saw Hitman's Bodyguard yesterday for free as part of the Regal Crown Club.
There is a good movie in there, but what we are shown is kind of a mess. It was fun if you turned off your brain and just enjoyed the car chases, but anytime they tried to speak or make decisions, the logic holes destroyed everything. Ryan Reynolds seemed like he was playing Deadpool without the mask while Sam Jackson seemed like he was playing a caricature of himself.
There were some funny lines, a lot of dead people, and plenty of car chases, but I'm pretty glad I didn't pay to see this one.
I'm not a fan of horror, so it never appealed to me. I think I've only seen two of his movies - Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. Not sure if either are based on a book though.
