Films You Have Watched

[wakka]

Yeah, a perfect movie. Everything about it is great.

"If you're going to travel through time, why not do it in style?"

[QualityChimp]

I re-evaluated the opening sequence, which on first viewing, you pick up that Doc had been gone for a week and that dog food slop is disgusting. However, there is soooo much information packed in from the newspaper clippings about how Doc sold his land, to the radio talking about the new Toyota pickup, to the telly talking about the missing uranium, to the skateboard clanking against the uranium box.

There are a few cut moments, like where Doc gets questioned by a cop if he has a permit to do his weather experiment, and he says "I've got your permit right here" in the cut bit, he opens his wallet and bribes the cop!

This is another standout and it's probably for the best it was cut:

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[wakka]

Yeah it's absolutely teeming with details.

I had fun recently taking a little nostalgia trip on the Back to the Future ride with this AI upscaled version:



It includes all the pre-show material too, which is great.

[QualityChimp]

Some of the Pepsi product placement was insane.

He's drinking Pepsi in his bedroom, he asks for a Pepsi Free ("You gotta pay for it") and even Marvin Berry's amp in on top of a Pepsi crate!

[Neon Ignition]

It created the cinematic universe concept too, in Part II when Marty crosses paths with tiny Frodo Baggins

[QualityChimp]

Me and my mate were trying to not out-fact each other, but we couldn't resist.

We knew most titbits, but apparently the early skateboard bits are Eric Stoltz before he was replaced.

We both knew about Gremlins and BttF using the same set:


However, this time I realised that Frances Lee McCain plays Billy's mom in Gremlins and Lorraine's mom in BttF:


Bizarrely, Doc Brown is wearing a Gremlins notepad!


Also don't forget about this guy appearing in both films!

->Open Spoiler<-

(Yes, that's Billy Zane)

[Atticus]

Wow ... I'd never made that connection with the set. Looks like it's been used for a ton of stuff over the years

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courthouse_Square

[Baseley09]

Nice never cottoned on to Lorraine's mum! Love it when she goes mental with the knife in Gremlins

[Neon Ignition]

The mum is one I didn't clock


I always notice the courthouse area in Bruce Almighty





It's a tad surreal to see it in real life, it genuinely is exactly how the square appears on screen so you feel weird having film and reality merge so seamlessly

[dataDave]

My son has been absolutely bumming BttF lately. It’s on repeat, as is the soundtrack in the car, and two weeks back we bought the Lego DeLorean (I rarely buy Lego).

[Dogg Thang]

I just watched Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. It’s an insane visual experience and I love that they totally embraced what animation can do, giving audiences credit for being able to just go with it. It swept me along nicely and the action is pretty incredible, although sometimes relentless. Hard to know how I feel about a story when I haven’t seen how it ends so really all I can say is that I’m enjoying it immensely so far. Ask me again if I live to see the next chapter.

But I do feel the run time and movie split led to the inevitable trap of not making the hard decisions and being lean enough. The movie had two separate openings and they were both good but one of them was redundant. And the adult characters talk way too much - the dialogue could have done with some serious cutting and I didn’t need to hear how tough it is to be a parent that many times. Generally I felt they were the weak link of the story, not really feeling like real people. Maybe it’s how families communicate in the US, I don’t know. But I struggled to buy them compared with, say, Aunt May or most of the characters from the first film.

But the Spider characters were hugely entertaining and both Miles and Gwen are great leads. And lots to see. I spotted loads of references and I’m not even a huge Spider-Man guy. I’d say it was a rich bounty for hardcore fans and yet I never felt references got in the way of the story. It was well done. Not sure if it was just the cinema I was at but, in my showing, the sound mix did not fare well.

One Spider-Man reference question (not plot or anything):

->Open Spoiler<-

I had read ages ago that the Japanese TV Spider-Man would be in it but I didn’t spot him. Did I just miss him?

[Neon Ignition]

Yep, there's some padding in there. The entire extended intro could be dropped and condensed quite easily, I might have also expanded a little more on Miguel and skipped the canon-events sequence till the next film as it gives away Beyond the Spider-verse's ending too much. The film is carried off with such confidence though that it's largely small tweaks, I think the only part I genuinely thought could have been better was the choice of cut off point, it stops on a not so compelling development.

For the reference, I remember that news story but I didn't see it either and can't find anything on it also so I'm wondering if it ended up dropped into the third film instead

[Dogg Thang]

I think the only part I genuinely thought could have been better was the choice of cut off point, it stops on a not so compelling development.

Yep.

->Open Spoiler<-

And no closure at all. They could have at least given it a sort of chapter finish ending but nope.

[Dogg Thang]

I rewatched the first Spider-verse last night and it’s amazing how visually tame it looks after seeing the second one. And yet I remember being stunned at the visuals and how they made it. It’s a testament to the visual bravery of the sequel. And yet it still looks great and the film comes together so, so well. It does show me what I missed in the sequel (particularly one of the characters who has a reduced and different role in the sequel) but the two films actually go together really well. These Spider-verse films are a real treat. Looking forward to seeing if they can pay it all off in the third next year.

[prinnysquad]

Buckaroo Banzai (1984)

Peter Weller, Jeff Goldblum, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Christopher Lloyd, Clancy Brown and Ronald Lacey star in this utterly mental piece of 80s absurdist satire. At least, I presume it was a satire. If not, it’s a very creative, and yet frustratingly unsatisfying, piece of dross. I liked it. I think. I also hated bits of it. I think? No, I did like it. It’s a riot of stupid.