[Film] Dunkirk (Jul 21 2017)

DD* · Post by DD* » Wed Jul 19, 2017 12:07 pm

Jeff V hates big screens. Pretty sure that is on the list.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 12:16 pm

DD* wrote:Jeff V hates big screens. Pretty sure that is on the list.

65" is not big? I didn't think it was worth paying the big price difference to go 70" and any larger than that was clearly out of our budget. It is 4K though.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 12:33 pm

Jeff V wrote:
DD* wrote:Jeff V hates big screens. Pretty sure that is on the list.
65" is not big? I didn't think it was worth paying the big price difference to go 70" and any larger than that was clearly out of our budget. It is 4K though.

When compared to IMAX, 65" is not big.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 12:45 pm

You do realize that served with the birth certificates of my two small children was a restraining order that reads:

"You may not come within 200 yards of any facility that requires silence out if its patrons. This includes, but is not limited to, churches, libraries, synagogues, mosques, temples, playhouses, movie theaters, concert venues and meditation gardens. This order will remain effective as long as your children are a menace to the peace."

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 12:53 pm

DD* wrote:Jeff V hates big screens. Pretty sure that is on the list.

I would love to resurrect the list, but I remember at least one poster who thought it was mean spirited. So I let it fade into history. But I'm mentally keeping track of all the new stuff that's been popping up over the last few months. I may just Martin Luther this shit to Jeff's front door one night.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 12:54 pm

hepcat wrote:I may just Martin Luther this shit to Jeff's front door one night.

That's taking flaming bag of poop to a whole nother level.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 1:16 pm

LordMortis wrote:
hepcat wrote:I may just Martin Luther this shit to Jeff's front door one night.
That's taking flaming bag of poop to a whole nother level.

Eh, I moved so far out in the suburbs that he's certain to give up in despair before he's even halfway there.

Anyway, I like Imax just fine, it's just going to be a lot of years until I see the inside of one again.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 1:49 pm

Jeff V wrote:You do realize that served with the birth certificates of my two small children was a restraining order that reads:

"You may not come within 200 yards of any facility that requires silence out if its patrons. This includes, but is not limited to, churches, libraries, synagogues, mosques, temples, playhouses, movie theaters, concert venues and meditation gardens. This order will remain effective as long as your children are a menace to the peace."

That's why you leave the children at home with a babysitter of some sort.

Goodness. I'm not a parent and even I know that.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:21 pm

We moved about an hour away from the baby sitter we had. Until my mother-in-law arrives, the baby sitter is me. Besides, wife works night shift, I work day shift, and any common off-time is spent doing projects around the house that can't be done when just one of us has to deal with the kids. Our son's preschool does Friday Night Child Imprisonment once a month for $40/kid or so, but it's a moot point since my wife works every single Friday night. Our only recreation is attending occasional parties where other similarly-encumbered parents are present.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:38 pm

Watching the trailers I realize I want a new WW2 fighter plane movie. Plenty of WW1 which I love even more usually but now we need a new WW2 fighter plane movie. Spitfirers, BF109s, Corsairs, Hellcats...all of them. Show both sides of the war....Pacific and Europe.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:43 pm

pr0ner wrote:That's why you leave the children at home with a babysitter of some sort.

Goodness. I'm not a parent and even I know that.

Hiring a babysitter can effectively make the price of a movie $100. I love seeing movies, but my wife and I rarely hire a babysitter just for that. Many times it's just easier to wait six months and buy it.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 3:36 pm

McNutt wrote:
pr0ner wrote:That's why you leave the children at home with a babysitter of some sort.

Goodness. I'm not a parent and even I know that.
Hiring a babysitter can effectively make the price of a movie $100. I love seeing movies, but my wife and I rarely hire a babysitter just for that. Many times it's just easier to wait six months and buy it.

We're partial to theaters that have food and bar service, and those are already close to $100 without factoring in the baby sitting. The cost-benefit to me is so out of whack that I'll never suggest doing this. Once in a while (last time was her b-day last November) my wife will decide she really wants to go see a movie and she'll arrange to make it so. Those are expensive dates. For a while, she'd get geeked to go see the Tagalog movie-of-the-week circulating in a dozen or so theaters nationwide, one which happened to be about 2 miles from us in Woodridge. We've since moved an hour drive away from that theater, and since TFC went the way of the cable when it was cut a year and a half ago, she is no longer exposed to extended advertising that builds interest in seeing such movies. We've not gone to one of those in over a year now.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 3:37 pm

pr0ner wrote: That's why you leave the children at home with a babysitter of some sort.

Goodness. I'm not a parent and even I know that.

Adding "of some sort" does not help your argument.

Mrs. Jeff: What the hell is this, Jeff?

Jeff: Our babysitter.

Mrs. Jeff: It looks mysteriously like a large baguette to which you've fastened 4 summer sausages and a balloon.

Jeff: Salami...should have gone with salami.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 3:39 pm

My wife and I just go separately and act as our own baby sitter. All of the movie fun, less than half the cost.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 3:40 pm

hepcat wrote:
pr0ner wrote: That's why you leave the children at home with a babysitter of some sort.

Goodness. I'm not a parent and even I know that.
Adding "of some sort" does not help your argument.

Mrs. Jeff: What the hell is this, Jeff?

Jeff: Our babysitter.

Mrs. Jeff: It looks mysteriously like a large baguette to which you've fastened 4 summer sausages and a balloon.

Jeff: Salami...should have gone with salami.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 4:04 pm

stessier wrote:My wife and I just go separately and act as our own baby sitter. All of the movie fun, less than half the cost.

I went to a movie alone once. I was on a business trip, had nothing else to do that evening and it was playing in a theater across the parking lot from the restaurant where I had dinner. The experience was very much like dining out alone.

It is very rare for my wife and I to have simultaneous free time together, and rarer still for that time not to be claimed by other responsibilities. And it will just get worse as the kids get older and involved in things that further oblige us to give up more of our time. Tag-teaming a movie is something I just don't ever see happening since that would mean we have nothing better to do where we can spend the time together, even if encumbered with children.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 5:24 pm

This thread needs more Tom-Hardy-in-a-Spitfire.

em2nought · Post by **em2nought** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 6:19 pm

Holman wrote:This thread needs more Tom-Hardy-in-a-Spitfire.

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 10:10 pm

pr0ner wrote:
Jeff V wrote:You do realize that served with the birth certificates of my two small children was a restraining order that reads:

"You may not come within 200 yards of any facility that requires silence out if its patrons. This includes, but is not limited to, churches, libraries, synagogues, mosques, temples, playhouses, movie theaters, concert venues and meditation gardens. This order will remain effective as long as your children are a menace to the peace."
That's why you leave the children at home with a babysitter of some sort.

Goodness. I'm not a parent and even I know that.

Shit, I just leave mine home alone...

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 9:36 am

naednek wrote: Shit, I just leave mine home alone...

A toddler and an infant who can't defend herself from beatings at the hand of said toddler. What could possibly go wrong? I should outfit the house with cameras first -- if there are no casualties, then I have material for my own major motion picture, right?

Spoiler:

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 9:38 am

Just think of the draw she could be at the strip clubs.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 9:57 am

Isgrimnur wrote:Just think of the draw she could be at the strip clubs.

She'd get bounced immediately for trying to suck on all of the titties.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 10:01 am

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 10:17 am

Spoiler:

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 12:19 pm

Jeff V wrote:
Spoiler:
Oooh, I can play that game. Don't have one with the girl, but my toddler is the one in the Thomas shirt. Note the train is still on it's rails, though.

There is a train ride on Highway 41 just before you enter Yosemite NP. They are now advertising that they have added a Thomas train.

When my kids were little we used a sitter a few times but yea, it just about doubles the cost of an evening. Also, we hated going back to the house after having some time away from the kids.

msteelers · Post by **msteelers** » Fri Jul 21, 2017 9:59 pm

Saw Dunkirk tonight. It's an intense film. I liked it a lot, but I don't know if I need to see it again.

I do feel the need to watch Saving Private Ryan soon though. I feel like this move leads right into that one.

tjg_marantz · Post by **tjg_marantz** » Sun Jul 23, 2017 1:51 am

Saw it this afternoon. Awe inspiring in 70mm IMAX. The sound mixing will win all the Oscars. The ticking clock that is basically there for 90 of the 100 minutes is just a brilliant touch. The flying segments are beautiful with again the sound just rumbling through your chest. Gorgeous.

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Holman · Post by **Holman** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 7:38 am

We saw it yesterday. It's pretty extraordinary.

Our showing was a standard 35mm, but even so it was visually gorgeous and aurally breathtaking. I plan to take our boys to an IMAX showing when they're back from camp.

It basically sidesteps the norms of the genre, with very little overt heroism and quite a lot of the opposite. It starts taught and the suspense never really relaxes even though the Germans are barely seen. It's a war movie without a whole lot of fighting and even without much dialogue, but it's very compelling.

Most war stories collapse into buddy-movies with distinct levels ending in a final boss fight. DUNKIRK is different from that in almost every way.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 8:42 am

I saw it Saturday as the second leg of a quad feature afternoon I put together and saw it in IMAX. It was the fastest 1:47 I've sat through.

I agree that the sound was amazing - you really felt like you were in the plane or on the beach. The ticking clock - it just blended into the background in a lot of cases and yet was totally effective.

I found the setup for the story to be unclear. The Beach: One week, The Sea: One Day, The Air: One Hour - it took me almost half the movie to figure out what that meant. I think that could have been explained better and I like how they wove it together - I just wish I had understood from the jump.

I found the beach to be the least compelling part of the story. It was unclear how much progress was being made or how close the enemy was. I found the Sea and Air to be far more interesting.

It's a good movie and worth seeing, but it won't be replacing Saving Private Ryan for me.

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 2:04 pm

Just got back from Dunkirk and I have to say the musical score is what made the movie in terms of experience. Stressful from the start and it rarely gives you a break. Yes the movie is good on it's own, but the music is really the driving force.

The back and forth between the timelines was a bit confusing for a while. I had to ask myself why am I seeing dogfighting in the day, then all of a sudden it's night.

I loved that it was light on special effects, as in not so much in your face. Overall, a good movie

bb2112 · Post by **bb2112** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 3:39 pm

stessier wrote: I found the setup for the story to be unclear. The Beach: One week, The Sea: One Day, The Air: One Hour - it took me almost half the movie to figure out what that meant. I think that could have been explained better and I like how they wove it together - I just wish I had understood from the jump.

I found the beach to be the least compelling part of the story. It was unclear how much progress was being made or how close the enemy was. I found the Sea and Air to be far more interesting.

It's a good movie and worth seeing, but it won't be replacing Saving Private Ryan for me.

Some small spoilers.

Spoiler:

So the movie was good, definitely worth seeing once. It will never compare to Saving Private Ryan.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat Jul 29, 2017 3:51 am

Just came out of 10PM showing. Was not too impressed. I went for the IMAX, but it's standard 35mm IMAX, not the 70mm super-screen 3D whatever. It was better than standard, but not extraordinarily so. The theater I went to was also old, doesn't have the power extra-wide luxury recliner seats, and thus, it wasn't that comfy either. Audio was fine. Video, it's okay.

Spoiler:

Carpet_pissr · Post by **Carpet_pissr** » Sat Jul 29, 2017 7:35 am

Kasey Chang wrote:Just came out of 10PM showing. Was not too impressed. I went for the IMAX, but it's standard 35mm IMAX, not the 70mm super-screen 3D whatever. It was better than standard, but not extraordinarily so. Video, it's okay.

That's why it's mocked as LIEMAX. Company intentionally does not differentiate between their vastly different video formats (and image quality/resolution) when marketing their stuff in theaters.

Sadly, the closest real IMAX experience for me is about an hour and a half drive. Tons of local theater options with LIEMAX though.

tjg_marantz · Post by **tjg_marantz** » Sat Jul 29, 2017 7:47 am

Not sure I'd blame IMAX. It's the theatre but making the distinction I think.

Our little town has the 70mm and I can't imagine seeing it on smaller. Glorious.

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pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Sat Jul 29, 2017 6:48 pm

Kasey Chang wrote:Just came out of 10PM showing. Was not too impressed. I went for the IMAX, but it's standard 35mm IMAX, not the 70mm super-screen 3D whatever. It was better than standard, but not extraordinarily so. The theater I went to was also old, doesn't have the power extra-wide luxury recliner seats, and thus, it wasn't that comfy either. Audio was fine. Video, it's okay.

Spoiler:
I can see they need to tell personal stories from multiple perspectives and have them intertwine until they reaches the conclusion. But it made for some confusing narratives. That one week, one day, one hour thing I can't figure out.

Also, the switching between light and darkness also confused the heck out of me. Which day was which again? I didn't get a clear delineation of what day is which. It doesn't take a day and a half to cross the English channel by boat, does it? As they said "I can almost see it from here."

Also, that must be the longest dead-stick glide in a Spitfire in history ever, not to mention shooting down a Stuka AND pass the beach coming AND going.

1) I haven't seen any IMAX theatres that have reclining seats in them. They're all standard movie seating.

As per your spoiler:

Spoiler:

Not that hard to figure out, and certainly not eyeroll worthy.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 11:23 am

One week land, one day sea, one hour air. Now that makes a lot more sense. But that works in a NOVEL. Making VISUAL switches in a two hour movie implies they are concurrent and makes little sense in a big budget release, IMHO.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 11:35 am

Kasey Chang wrote:One week land, one day sea, one hour air. Now that makes a lot more sense. But that works in a NOVEL. Making VISUAL switches in a two hour movie implies they are concurrent and makes little sense in a big budget release, IMHO.

No, the movie made it clear immediately that it was one week land, one day sea, one hour air, with the graphical explanation put on screen as each part of the story was introduced.

Granted, I got briefly taken out of the moment when the first night shot appeared, but I quickly remembered the stories weren't taking place at the same time and it all made sense again.

em2nought · Post by **em2nought** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 5:11 pm

bb2112 wrote: It will never compare to Saving Private Ryan.

That can be a good thing, I don't like weeping in front of people.

gameoverman · Post by **gameoverman** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 6:59 pm

Finally saw this, was a bit underwhelmed. The movie is good, and very well made. It's just that the movie suggests things that aren't in agreement with what the audience is shown. Examples:
Much is made of 300,000 or so troops being stuck there. We do see some lines of troops early on, but later there are shots of the beach and there's no one there, and this is not after the evacuation either. It undercut the tension when the people who are supposed to be so desperate to leave have apparently already found somewhere else to go.

They hold back the air force, fine, strategic decision, I get it. But why? From the way it's shown, there is a very limited appearance by the German air force, with the occasional attack by a handful of planes. Who were the Brits supposed to be scared of in the air?

When the small boats arrive, it's supposed to be a big moment since the movie shows troops cheering, but there's a handful of boats. There's a disconnect there if you have a scene where maybe hundreds(at best) of troops can get a ride out and there are hundreds of thousands who need a ride out. That's not a moment for cheers, that's a moment for a realization that you're all farked.

My favorite part was the guy in the boat with the teens, I found that story gripping and it was rewarding in how layered it was. They didn't get much screen time but there was a lot going on there.

Overall the sense of scale just wasn't there. It's like Nolan decided to rely on the audience just imagining the missing elements are there, instead of depicting them. Movies like Saving Private Ryan show the epic scale and I prefer that approach.

Archinerd · Post by **Archinerd** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 11:23 pm

Got a chance to see it tonight. I'm hit or miss on Christopher Nolan (didn't care for Inception and really only liked the robots from Interstellar), so I wasn't sure if I'd like it even with the good reviews.
In short, I thought it was great. Even the time gimmick. I thought it did a great job of building tension along with the sound design. The rattling of the Spitfire cockpits might be my favorite thing in the whole movie.

gameoverman wrote:
Overall the sense of scale just wasn't there. It's like Nolan decided to rely on the audience just imagining the missing elements are there, instead of depicting them. Movies like Saving Private Ryan show the epic scale and I prefer that approach.

I think this was a stylistic choice, not a budget driven choice. Scenes shifted back and forth between claustrophobic and broad views with lots of negative space as another way of building tension. I think it worked quite well.

A fresh take and a new perspective from the tired old WW2 movie.
I'd sum the whole thing up with (plot spoiler)

Spoiler: