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The Films You Watched Thread VI: The Undiscovered Movie

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    Needed to watch a JCVD film for Woovember.
    I'm not a massive fan, tbh, but got hold of the steelbook Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, that stars Scott Adkins and is shot in 3D, so I was totally sold!

    I was expecting some competent DTV action, but was blindsided by a totally different film.
    It's proper murky with a harsh death right from the start, but it's proper gory to the point of body horror.
    The basic premise of the story is that he's trying to get revenge and kill those who wronged him, but it has a really different angle from what you'd expect - it's like a psychological thriller, with elements of horror.

    Throughout the film it feels like a nightmarish fog as things start to make sense.
    Felt like an urban version of the end to Apocalypse Now as he searches for JCVD's Kurtz-like character, but with Memento amnesia making it hard to tell who to trust.

    There are discussions of control, free-will and individuality and feels like a trippy sci-fi film like Upstream Color or one where they question their sanity.

    Genuinely caught me by surprise by being not what I thought it was, although there are some excellent fight sequences too, like one in a sports shop and a "one shot" type sequence towards the end.

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      Friday the 13th Part II - It's more of the same, but I really enjoyed the first so that's okay. I think I slightly preferred first one (the extra polish adds and takes away) but the second feels like it sets out the stall good and proper, adding the iconic villain (but no iconic headwear yet).

      I have watched half of part III and it feels like a slog. It's the 3D gimmick. Random things are constantly poked at the screen and shots are set up with an obvious 3D moment in mind. It's distracting. But lets not forget, it's not distracting me from The Seventh Seal or anything, it's just a bloody popcorn muncher, but it does feel like a weaker instalment.
      Last edited by Atticus; 11-11-2021, 11:34.

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        Yeah, the 3D aspect of Part 3 really impacts the enjoyment. Maybe it would have been a treat back in the day at the cinema (although probably not - I went to see Freddy's Dead 3D back in the day and it was awful), but it just gets in the way now.

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          Originally posted by Atticus View Post
          Friday the 13th Part II - It's more of the same, but I really enjoyed the first so that's okay. I think I slightly preferred first one (the extra polish adds and takes away) but the second feels like it sets out the stall good and proper, adding the iconic villain (but no iconic headwear yet).

          I have watched half of part III and it feels like a slog. It's the 3D gimmick. Random things are constantly poked at the screen and shots are set up with an obvious 3D moment in mind. It's distracting. But lets not forget, it's not distracting me from The Seventh Seal or anything a bloody popcorn muncher but it does feel like a weaker instalment.
          Imagine if the Seventh Seal had had 3D though. Now that would've been something worth watching. Or moving seats. Seventh Seal: 4DX Edition!

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            Haha, the Universal Studios ride

            I'm just not a fan of 3D in any film, old tech or new. Just ain't for me.

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              Watched Suicide Squad (the new one) with one of my boys last night. What a blast. We both had such a great time watching it!

              Just wish there was more

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                Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin
                The seventh film and a reboot, not that it's clear. It has a weird style of being camera POV based like the other six films but mixed with traditional shots also, except they still don't use it logically with characters opting to focus on filming when it makes no sense to. The film resets the table but adds nothing, there's pretty much no reason for it to exist and it's not even well done. This is just a franchise that is truly burnt out.

                Jungle Cruise
                We put this off for a long time but to be fair it wasn't that bad in the end. The first half hour reeks of The Mummy before it veers hard into Pirates of the Caribbean's waters. There's an epic, epic over reliance on CG throughout but it's light and pacey.

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                  Originally posted by Neon Ignition View Post
                  Jungle Cruise
                  We put this off for a long time but to be fair it wasn't that bad in the end. The first half hour reeks of The Mummy before it veers hard into Pirates of the Caribbean's waters. There's an epic, epic over reliance on CG throughout but it's light and pacey.
                  I'm quite looking forward to this ... included in Disney Plus as of today I think.

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                    Originally posted by Neon Ignition View Post
                    Jungle Cruise

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                      Originally posted by Atticus View Post
                      Haha, the Universal Studios ride

                      I'm just not a fan of 3D in any film, old tech or new. Just ain't for me.
                      Yeah I'm with you. My old Panny plasma supported 3D, and I did buy some discs. I know the format has its fans on here in the shape of QC, Dogg and others, but I always just find it kind of distracting. Like I'm kind of just observing the effect a lot of the time, rather than being drawn in by the film. The effect is also quite rudimentary - it always feels like there are only about 3 different layers that stuff can be put on.

                      Anyway I feel like I'm kicking a format when it's down. Like yourself it just wasn't one for me.

                      Love the idea of The Seventh Seal: The Ride then perhaps we could finally get Citizen Kane: VR Edition.

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                        I thought we understood each other. How wrong I was.

                        Nobody is making you watch stuff in 3D!

                        Modern 3D is a world away from Friday The 13th: Part 3: Jason Finally Gets a Mask where they're yo-yoing into the camera just to show it off.

                        Recently watched Doctor Strange and the 3D is immense in that with whole cities folding up, translucent spell shields and portals to other locations adding extra depth.

                        Those older 3D films were hilarious.

                        Anyone remember those Cinema 180 domes?

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                          Originally posted by QualityChimp View Post
                          Nobody is making you watch stuff in 3D!
                          They were at one point ... felt like A Clockwork Orange going to the flix 10 years ago

                          I actually like the tech of modern 3D, and really, it's not the tech, it's me. I like to lose myself in a film as much as possible and 3D just constantly reminds me I'm watching a film.

                          What I do like is the old-school 50s-ness of the concept though

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                            No, I totally get that and I'm not militant about it.

                            I'm not a fan of breaking suspension of reality, so I know what you mean, but I kinda get into the groove without thinking about it now, like reading subtitles.

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                              Originally posted by QualityChimp View Post
                              I kinda get into the groove without thinking about it now, like reading subtitles.
                              That is a very good point.

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                                Yeah. I found it very distracting when filmmakers were trying to shove things in your face because it was 3D (Friday the 13th Part 3, for example). But once they settled into just making a film but it happens to be in 3D, it really worked for me. I see in three dimensions so it feels natural that I could watch a film in three dimensions. On rare occasions, it can really enhance a movie (Dredd) but mostly I just put it in the same category as movies being in colour - I see in colour, why would I not want to see a movie in colour?

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