Time for the next thread to begin and having not updated since before the Christmas window we're going in with a very large update to start us off. Are we sitting comfortably? Good, then I'll begin.
Once Upon a Time...
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse
Watching this for the second time and on the smaller screen did this a lot of favours. It really lowered the visual styles scale which make it easier to focus on the action but that being said we had to stop twice because the bold styling gave my missus a migraine each time we tried to continue. That being said she enjoyed it, just wishing they'd gone for an easier on the eye visual style, whilst I got a lot more out of it this time around and it really feels like this film shows how much lower the bar has been for the MCU Spider-Man films which this easily outclasses narratively, in direction and in action.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
It remains just as strong a film now as it has been for years. Martin and Candy are just the perfect casting choices and it holds you even when Candy exits the frame at times with the ending still paying off even though you know what's coming.
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
I mean, it's Raiders, it's still for me the second best entry which I know is sacrilege to some but it does have some dry moments due to the more serious tone than the films that follow it but it's small fries comparison when the film is so damned good and so far beyond the curve of its contemporaries back in its day or even today.
Splash
I haven't seen this for many years but I have seen it many times as a kid, seeing it now though the quirkiness isn't as strong as it once felt but the appreciation of the work Hannah does underwater is much higher. Pre-CG days it's not hard to imagine how hard this film must have been for her to film and yet it's stronger than any modern day equivalent would put out. The film (though released earlier) is incredibly close to Little Mermaid in many places too whilst Candy is somewhat wasted.
Footloose
I've never seen this despite how well known it is and it's fascinating to actually see Bacon in a film like this. It's effectively an earlier form of Dirty Dancing I guess but man, it's a rough film that isn't very enjoyable beyond the unintentionally amusing warehouse montage dance.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Still also a great film even if it's a dip to third best in the series. A lot less action which I always forget before viewing it again but being more comedic in tone it's light and breezy and Ford has absolutely nailed the role down by this point.
Uncle Buck
Another one which is just still good fun to experience because it's just Candy being Candy which is always entertaining enough in of itself. You take him out of the film and the whole thing would collapse in on itself in an instant.
The Christmas Chronicles
Still solid enough fun on rewatch, Russell is always solid.
The Polar Express
Still a weird film. The animation design is both lovely and ugly at the same time whilst the story is decent for literally half the film before the kids reach the North Pole and the film falls apart.
Gremlins
I remain far too informed by the sequel, forgetting again how many queues this takes from horror films so we quickly held it till the kids were in bed.
Romancing the Stone
I remember enjoying this as a kid but this time it felt really sluggish and slow. It's still weird to see Douglas in this kind of role and he's surprisingly decent at it but there's far too little going on for too long.
The Christmas Chronicles Part II
We entered keen to see what the sequel would offer but despite the Russell/Hawn combo it's massively weaker in every single way to the first film.
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Adventure
Don't let the subtitle fool you, Xmas has little to do with this tale which is Netflix trying to capture some Greatest Showman magic in a bottle for itself and failing miserably. It looks cheap, doesn't really go anywhere for much of the runtime and ends low key with the songs just coming across as cheap forgettable knock offs.
Tenet
As previously discussed in the other thread, it's not complicated merely badly written with little and weak action. All of Nolan's worst excesses exposed.
Soul
Solid but overall middling effort.
Die Hard 2: Die Harder
Because it too is an Xmas film! Still sillier than the original but still a fun and solid follow up with some great moments.
Wonder Woman 1984
I've seen it twice now and to be honest I do have issues with it but the furore over it still seems hugely overblown and half the time woefully misinformed by viewers who failed miserably to pay attention. A certain amount of blame can be levied at the film for failing to hold attention spans but far too often, thanks to its digital release, I've read comments from people who comment on the whole film whilst also bragging of skipping entire sequences every 15 minutes or quitting 45 mins in yet somehow feel able to comment on the overall film. Likewise questioning moments that are clearly explained within the film or within its own canonical logic also. There are plot holes, there are issues as well but there's also a huge amount of nonsense spouted as well. WW84 is a very middling superhero film, one that's bizarrely not been tightened up in its 18 months on a shelf when the opportunity was there to as well but it has its moments too.
Once Upon a Time...
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse
Watching this for the second time and on the smaller screen did this a lot of favours. It really lowered the visual styles scale which make it easier to focus on the action but that being said we had to stop twice because the bold styling gave my missus a migraine each time we tried to continue. That being said she enjoyed it, just wishing they'd gone for an easier on the eye visual style, whilst I got a lot more out of it this time around and it really feels like this film shows how much lower the bar has been for the MCU Spider-Man films which this easily outclasses narratively, in direction and in action.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
It remains just as strong a film now as it has been for years. Martin and Candy are just the perfect casting choices and it holds you even when Candy exits the frame at times with the ending still paying off even though you know what's coming.
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
I mean, it's Raiders, it's still for me the second best entry which I know is sacrilege to some but it does have some dry moments due to the more serious tone than the films that follow it but it's small fries comparison when the film is so damned good and so far beyond the curve of its contemporaries back in its day or even today.
Splash
I haven't seen this for many years but I have seen it many times as a kid, seeing it now though the quirkiness isn't as strong as it once felt but the appreciation of the work Hannah does underwater is much higher. Pre-CG days it's not hard to imagine how hard this film must have been for her to film and yet it's stronger than any modern day equivalent would put out. The film (though released earlier) is incredibly close to Little Mermaid in many places too whilst Candy is somewhat wasted.
Footloose
I've never seen this despite how well known it is and it's fascinating to actually see Bacon in a film like this. It's effectively an earlier form of Dirty Dancing I guess but man, it's a rough film that isn't very enjoyable beyond the unintentionally amusing warehouse montage dance.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Still also a great film even if it's a dip to third best in the series. A lot less action which I always forget before viewing it again but being more comedic in tone it's light and breezy and Ford has absolutely nailed the role down by this point.
Uncle Buck
Another one which is just still good fun to experience because it's just Candy being Candy which is always entertaining enough in of itself. You take him out of the film and the whole thing would collapse in on itself in an instant.
The Christmas Chronicles
Still solid enough fun on rewatch, Russell is always solid.
The Polar Express
Still a weird film. The animation design is both lovely and ugly at the same time whilst the story is decent for literally half the film before the kids reach the North Pole and the film falls apart.
Gremlins
I remain far too informed by the sequel, forgetting again how many queues this takes from horror films so we quickly held it till the kids were in bed.
Romancing the Stone
I remember enjoying this as a kid but this time it felt really sluggish and slow. It's still weird to see Douglas in this kind of role and he's surprisingly decent at it but there's far too little going on for too long.
The Christmas Chronicles Part II
We entered keen to see what the sequel would offer but despite the Russell/Hawn combo it's massively weaker in every single way to the first film.
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Adventure
Don't let the subtitle fool you, Xmas has little to do with this tale which is Netflix trying to capture some Greatest Showman magic in a bottle for itself and failing miserably. It looks cheap, doesn't really go anywhere for much of the runtime and ends low key with the songs just coming across as cheap forgettable knock offs.
Tenet
As previously discussed in the other thread, it's not complicated merely badly written with little and weak action. All of Nolan's worst excesses exposed.
Soul
Solid but overall middling effort.
Die Hard 2: Die Harder
Because it too is an Xmas film! Still sillier than the original but still a fun and solid follow up with some great moments.
Wonder Woman 1984
I've seen it twice now and to be honest I do have issues with it but the furore over it still seems hugely overblown and half the time woefully misinformed by viewers who failed miserably to pay attention. A certain amount of blame can be levied at the film for failing to hold attention spans but far too often, thanks to its digital release, I've read comments from people who comment on the whole film whilst also bragging of skipping entire sequences every 15 minutes or quitting 45 mins in yet somehow feel able to comment on the overall film. Likewise questioning moments that are clearly explained within the film or within its own canonical logic also. There are plot holes, there are issues as well but there's also a huge amount of nonsense spouted as well. WW84 is a very middling superhero film, one that's bizarrely not been tightened up in its 18 months on a shelf when the opportunity was there to as well but it has its moments too.
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