The Films You Watched Thread VI: The Undiscovered Movie

[QualityChimp]

IO (2019 via Netflix)
Fancied cramming in some sci-fi before bed and this 90 minute curio caught my eye.
It stars Margeret Qualley and Anthony "Falcon" Mackie as a scientist trying to save a dying Earth and a man trying to reach the last shuttle to leave.

There are some nice shots in this of desolate streets (which reminded me of The Division 2!) and mountain tops, but it feels like a slow burner that doesn't really go anywhere. There are similar films like Phase IV or Omega Man, but they seem to have some events before the conclusion.

The leads are fine, but there's very little chemistry between them and the whole thing dragged after an initially interesting premise.

[Neon Ignition]

Total Recall
The Arnie version which was playing last night at the cinema. Good to see on the big screen and always one of those Arnie films where you forget that it's as clever a film as it actually is until you watch it again

[beecee]

Back to the Future trilogy.
Excellent. Love them all. The only thing that grates is the horrendous paradox in the second one. I know there’s many, but the Biff returning to 2015 one is pretty terrible, especially since they use a blackboard to essentially show how it couldn’t happen.
.

I'm sure i watched something that explained that, when Biff was struggling to get out the car, it looked like he was in pain, that was like time catching up, he was just ahead of the time wave that eventually caught up with him, he essentially died just off screen in that scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=124-bZmfbPQ

[Cassius_Smoke]

I'm sure i watched something that explained that, when Biff was struggling to get out the car, it looked like he was in pain, that was like time catching up, he was just ahead of the time wave that eventually caught up with him, he essentially died just off screen in that scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=124-bZmfbPQ

The way I understood it was...
Biff 2015 gave Biff 1955 the almanac. But Biff 1955 didn't use it straight away, so he hadn't effected the future yet. Biff 2015 could travel back to HIS future without issue.
When doc traveled back to 1985 Biff had used the Almanac and so once they landed in 1985, 2015 was no longer traversable.m

[prinnysquad]

Hmmmmmmm.

Interesting. I presumed that the second the agent of change was handed over, then the future was branched from that moment on. Now I’m not so sure.

[Cassius_Smoke]

Hmmmmmmm.

Interesting. I presumed that the second the agent of change was handed over, then the future was branched from that moment on. Now I’m not so sure.

Yeah that's it.
In the wiki it says:
Biff was reluctant to believe "some old codger with a cane", but eventually came to believe its validity. Using it as a guide for betting, by 1985 he became a celebrity and built a financial corrupted empire.

So some time between 1955 & 1985 he started use it, and once he did the timeline skewed into a tangent. Up until then, 2015 as we saw it could be reached. Afterwards, it would have been a different 2015.

[Neon Ignition]

Plus it would take time for the timeline to diverge. The first film already established, with the timeline change that erased Marty's siblings, that changes in BTTF occur in a gradual phased manner rather than instantly

[CMcK]

I saw Everything Everywhere All at Once last night. One of the best films I’ve seen in years. Very creative and quirky with great performances from Yeoh and Curtis. I doubt this will make it to the big cinema chains but if there’s somewhere nearby showing it check it out.

[Brad]

Top Gun:

Still a great movie. Aged far better than I expected. The fighter jet porn is really good considering the age of the movie, even with the fictional Mig 28 and the made-for-cinema targeting systems in the tomcat lol. Can’t wait for the sequel next Wednesday.

[QualityChimp]

Top Gun:

Still a great movie. Aged far better than I expected. The fighter jet porn is really good considering the age of the movie, even with the fictional Mig 28 and the made-for-cinema targeting systems in the tomcat lol. Can’t wait for the sequel next Wednesday.

I wasn't fussed, but having caught the trailer at the cinema, I'm keen to see it on the big screen.
I've also downloaded the VR Ace Combat to pretend I'm Maverick too!

[Brad]

Takedown:

French movie with Omar Sy (Lupin TV series). Cop buddy movie basically but really funny. The French love their slapstick and there’s a fair bit in here. Really good fun.

[Neon Ignition]

Airplane!
It has its good moments but quite a lot of it has aged past the point of amusement. It's very easy to see how Nielsen stole the film as well, his deadpan here is flawless. I definitely think the film was bettered by some of what followed but the view you have to take is, surely you can't dislike a film that has given so many decades long quotable moments? You can't... and don't call be Shirley.

Everything, Everywhere, All At Once
I went into this trying to know as little as possible but in a way I don't think that that was too much of a concern, the trailer really sets its stall out and if that doesn't then the films opening 15 minutes does. Weirdly, if I had to summarise it in as few words as possible I'd probably say it's Turning Red with the Multiverse instead of a Red Panda.

It's an impressive film, I feel like some will struggle with the weirdness going on in it but it does a really good job of lending any oddity a purpose. It doesn't seem to contain any element that doesn't serve a purpose or lend itself to the central theme, it justifies pretty much every element that I've thought back on afterward. The only element I've found myself snagged on a little is the ending:

->Open Spoiler<-

That Evelyn patches things up with Joy and they settle into a normal life together but you have to stay stuck to the idea that despite the films resolution both retain a sense of much not mattering to them. I mean that in the sense that whilst Evelyn and Joy settle their differences Evelyn does so with Alpha-Joy, not her own Joy. Likewise, Alpha-Joy takes her fix from an Evelyn who never experienced or put her through the extent her real mother did. Both settle in the Laundromat Party universe also meaning that Evelyn's Joy and Waymond are abandoned in the IRS destroyed universe without her, a pretty cold pay off as it means Evelyn retains a tiny bit of coldness despite her lesson learnt.

I don't know if that's intentional though or the right read of it, the ending is ambiguous enough I guess you can go with what you want, it just stuck with me that it wraps up with them stealing a multiverse Evelyn's life

Really enjoyed it, I wasn't sure if it would land maybe around 45-50 mins given the tonal jumps but it nails every landing.

[QualityChimp]

Really want to see EEAAT!
And Doctor Strange 2!
And Top Gun 2!

Argh!

I saw Jackass 4.5 as it's just dropped on Netflix.
I watched simultaneously with a mate over PSN as watching this with others is the best way to watch these things.
Basically, it's the documentary version of Jackass Forever, which isn't on Netflix, so it shows some of the stunts and the behind-the-scenes about them, which is interesting, but reduces the humour.
Also, it's interesting to see them all still going. I guess Johnny Knoxville spent his paycheque from Men In Black 2 and needs some more cash. For a time, these guys were the height of cool, but it's a bit sad to see them shoving things up their arses to get laughs at this age.
It was interesting to watch, it did make me laugh at times, but I came away feeling a bit embarrassed for them.

I've always preferred the stunts to the poo pranks, so much more up my street was Nitro Circus: The Movie 3D, which I got for a princely sum of £1.02 off Amazon Marketplace.
I lost track of how many times I said "holy ****!" at some of the stunts, but it was funny seeing them fail so often because at Nitro Circus Live, they nailed every trick and made it look easy.
There's a stunt in an early Jackass episode where they jump on an inflatable "blob" and someone at the other end is launched into a lake. They did a similar thing here, but off the top of a skyscraper! They even had to fly to Panama to do it as it's illegal in America.
Those bits in 3D were vertigo-inducing!
I enjoyed this more than Jackass, but as Knoxville says on it "Brothers from the same mother. Different fathers, though!"

I also watched Spider-Man 2 and I'd forgotten how good it was.
The fight on the train was particularly thrilling!
There's a lot going on and Peter is determined to show everyone he's Spider-Man, but it's still great fun, despite the slump in action towards the middle when he quits the hero game.
Doctor Octopus is a great version in this, a great scientist, but corrupted by the AI arms.

[Lebowski]

Red Notice filled in the family friendly popcorn quota for Saturday night, its an unoffensive old school odd couple/buddy comedy/treasure hunt. Ryan Renyolds plays to his strengths as a wise cracking art thief along side the Rock who plays straight man FBI Agent trying to clear his name. The whole film is just action set pieces in exotic locations chasing the McGuffin which in this case is a priceless set of Eggs that once belonged to Cleopatra???

All the usual tropes are at play here, false leads, globe trotting locations, Mob bosses, Nazi Treasure hoards, and a rival treasure hunter and police constantly poping up to add pace and suspense. The forgotten Nazi store room containing the

->Open Spoiler<-

Ark of the covenant made me chuckle

its pretty unoffensive it zips along nicely and while not as good as say films like national treasure or the new uncharted film its an ok treasure hunt buddy comedy style film. Ending is all over the place though its like they where too busy trying to set up a sequel and forgot that a satisfying conclusion is also needed.

[fuse]

Everything does seem to be the best reason to go to the cinema lately, but I'm also expecting it to be mere months till it's available to rent, so I'll probably just hold fire for that. Sorry, cinema chains. On that note, this weekend's watching consisted of...

Jackass Forever, which I'd also been tempted to go see in the cinema. I saw a lot of long-term appreciators of the series rave about this, and between that and watching a few too many clips beforehand - naturally of the best bits - I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I'd hoped to. It's not too overt, but there is an unexpectedly profound side to seeing the usual cast slowly winding down and passing the torch to a broader cast of new blood, but it's still very much daft pranks. Just perhaps not the best daft pranks.

I walked in halfway through the trailer for The French Dispatch being played and I cannot think of an instance where I have been able to identify the director more immediately and with such confidence. It is a Wes Anderson film. It has a Wes Anderson cast. Every shot is framed and every movement is directed with total precision, and it flits between different presentations in such a way that everything glues together only because every moment looks so consistently different. It's about the final issue of a magazine, and is structurally set out just like one, with three key features telling separate stories and clearly with a lot of reverence for this kind of writing. I liked it but even still would still say that it's very heavy-going with wordiness and whimsy, and can see that it'd get wearisome very soon into its runtime for a lot of folks.

Death on the Nile was pretty disappointing. I quite liked Murder on the Orient Express before it, and it largely follows the same format, with an ensemble cast gathered in one place, each with motives aplenty, and a reluctant Poirot sleuthing away. Branagh as Poirot is still decent fun, but the bits of his backstory that are chipped away at this time aren't particularly compelling, and there's a bit too much uninteresting glitz / glamour / crap Egypt CG before we get to the mystery part, which is also not that compelling even when you get there.