the more I think about it the more I think the HBO "Westworld" treatment would be bestWolfpack wrote:As long as it has enough 'splosions and one-liners, people might actually see it.
What have you been watching? (DVD or Films on TV)
Re: What have you been watching? (DVD or Films on TV)
perversely contrarian since 2005
Re: What have you been watching? (DVD or Films on TV)
Red Notice on Netflix was a lot of fun. good twisty-turny art heist action fun. The Rock plays off his hardass image in a fun way that has a great payoff. Ryan Reynolds does his usual wisecrack schtick but without the mask or burn makeup... mostly manages to avoid crossing over the line into annoying territory. Gal Gadot's acting has become more natural and this role lets her play more loosely than WW, though she's not around much for the first half... it felt more like a Rock/Reynolds buddy pic for the first hour or so.
Re: What have you been watching? (DVD or Films on TV)
i have been watching the Rocky series this week. less to do with Philly being in the playoffs and more to do with the fact that the films were recently added to Netflix and my subscription runs out end of the month.
Rocky - this film is just pitch-perfect in every category: writing, directing, acting, music, everything. it created the formula that every other sports movie of the 80s would follow, but then broke the formula at the same time, by not having Rocky "win" at the end, and showing that for Rocky, winning wasn't even the point. Stallone actually does some fantastic acting work here (same for First Blood), and it really makes you wonder what could have been for him if he stuck to acting and writing and didn't get all caught up in the 80s blockbuster action hero hype.
Rocky II - this film just feels perfunctory. there's still some really good work here, but a lot of it just feels like it was made to appease the people who complained about Rocky not winning in the first film. unlike the first film, where every line and scene was perfect, this one's got some real clunkers. like the scene where Rocky is late to the fight, but stops outside a priest's apartment and yells at him to give him a blessing, it just makes you cringe. they even trot out the tired (almost-)dead wife trope to inject some drama. still, this film at least tries to be a real movie, portraying Rocky's struggle to adjust to life post-fame and accept himself for who and what he is, instead of the glossed over rah-rah crap of later sequels.
Rocky III - it's a fun popcorn flick, but nothing more. Apollo Creed was cartoonish in I and II, but he was a full-fledged character. Clubber Lang is just a cartoon (albeit a fun one, thanks to Mr. T's presence). just like Stallone's evolving physique, it's a very lean film. they basically cut all the "studly" (i.e. character development and personal drama) and just stuck to the boxing stuff. there are a few peeks here and there of the old Rocky films, like Adrian's speech to get Rocky to admit he's afraid - a good reminder that the true heart of the series isn't the boxing but the Rocky-Adrian relationship. but it really feels like this film comes from another universe entirely from the first two.
Rocky IV - wow. i forgot just how bad this movie really is. everything the original gets so right, this one gets absolutely wrong. the Rocky character is completely unrecognizable from that earliest version, it's like Stallone got mixed up and thought he was still playing Rambo here. the music is the worst 80s drivel you can imagine, and they even ditch the iconic Bill Conti theme. Creed's death feels like a retread of Mickey's death from III. the Russians are even more cliche and cartoonish than Clubber Lang. and worst of all, Rocky's motivation to fight here is incomprehensible. is he fighting to avenge Creed? is he driven by guilt for not stopping the fight before Creed died? or did he get infected with Creed's misguided patriotism to feel like he had to take on the Russians himself? or some combination of the above? the film never even tries to offer a cogent explanation of Rocky's motivations. they go straight from Creed's funeral to the announcement that Rocky will be fighting Drago next. no soul-searching or deliberating the decision to reveal why Rocky wants this fight. the closest we get is Adrian fighting with Rocky asking him why he needs to do this (which he has no discernible answer for), followed by a scowling Rocky driving his sports car at night cut together with flashbacks and cheesy 80s rock. but that montage features literally every major moment of the previous 3 films as well as Creed's death, so it doesn't shed a bit of light on his reasons to fight Drago. the only thing that montage accomplishes is to pad the running time and get the film over the 90-minute mark, which it barely achieves. the fight itself, of course, is completely ridiculous, from the Russians suddenly switching to cheering Rocky, to Rocky's incredibly silly post-fight speech.
and then there's the robot. the stupid fucking robot.
apparently there's a new Director's Cut of IV that was released last year, that expands on Rocky's motivation and relationship with Creed. haven't seen it, i don't know if it can fix everything that's wrong with this film, but it sure can't be any worse.
i may or may not finish with Rocky V tonight, i remember it also not being very good, but after the shitshow of Rocky IV, it would probably feel like a masterpiece.
Rocky - this film is just pitch-perfect in every category: writing, directing, acting, music, everything. it created the formula that every other sports movie of the 80s would follow, but then broke the formula at the same time, by not having Rocky "win" at the end, and showing that for Rocky, winning wasn't even the point. Stallone actually does some fantastic acting work here (same for First Blood), and it really makes you wonder what could have been for him if he stuck to acting and writing and didn't get all caught up in the 80s blockbuster action hero hype.
Rocky II - this film just feels perfunctory. there's still some really good work here, but a lot of it just feels like it was made to appease the people who complained about Rocky not winning in the first film. unlike the first film, where every line and scene was perfect, this one's got some real clunkers. like the scene where Rocky is late to the fight, but stops outside a priest's apartment and yells at him to give him a blessing, it just makes you cringe. they even trot out the tired (almost-)dead wife trope to inject some drama. still, this film at least tries to be a real movie, portraying Rocky's struggle to adjust to life post-fame and accept himself for who and what he is, instead of the glossed over rah-rah crap of later sequels.
Rocky III - it's a fun popcorn flick, but nothing more. Apollo Creed was cartoonish in I and II, but he was a full-fledged character. Clubber Lang is just a cartoon (albeit a fun one, thanks to Mr. T's presence). just like Stallone's evolving physique, it's a very lean film. they basically cut all the "studly" (i.e. character development and personal drama) and just stuck to the boxing stuff. there are a few peeks here and there of the old Rocky films, like Adrian's speech to get Rocky to admit he's afraid - a good reminder that the true heart of the series isn't the boxing but the Rocky-Adrian relationship. but it really feels like this film comes from another universe entirely from the first two.
Rocky IV - wow. i forgot just how bad this movie really is. everything the original gets so right, this one gets absolutely wrong. the Rocky character is completely unrecognizable from that earliest version, it's like Stallone got mixed up and thought he was still playing Rambo here. the music is the worst 80s drivel you can imagine, and they even ditch the iconic Bill Conti theme. Creed's death feels like a retread of Mickey's death from III. the Russians are even more cliche and cartoonish than Clubber Lang. and worst of all, Rocky's motivation to fight here is incomprehensible. is he fighting to avenge Creed? is he driven by guilt for not stopping the fight before Creed died? or did he get infected with Creed's misguided patriotism to feel like he had to take on the Russians himself? or some combination of the above? the film never even tries to offer a cogent explanation of Rocky's motivations. they go straight from Creed's funeral to the announcement that Rocky will be fighting Drago next. no soul-searching or deliberating the decision to reveal why Rocky wants this fight. the closest we get is Adrian fighting with Rocky asking him why he needs to do this (which he has no discernible answer for), followed by a scowling Rocky driving his sports car at night cut together with flashbacks and cheesy 80s rock. but that montage features literally every major moment of the previous 3 films as well as Creed's death, so it doesn't shed a bit of light on his reasons to fight Drago. the only thing that montage accomplishes is to pad the running time and get the film over the 90-minute mark, which it barely achieves. the fight itself, of course, is completely ridiculous, from the Russians suddenly switching to cheering Rocky, to Rocky's incredibly silly post-fight speech.
and then there's the robot. the stupid fucking robot.
apparently there's a new Director's Cut of IV that was released last year, that expands on Rocky's motivation and relationship with Creed. haven't seen it, i don't know if it can fix everything that's wrong with this film, but it sure can't be any worse.
i may or may not finish with Rocky V tonight, i remember it also not being very good, but after the shitshow of Rocky IV, it would probably feel like a masterpiece.
Re: What have you been watching? (DVD or Films on TV)
Cool idea!
I personally couldn't get thru anything after Rocky the Original at this point.
I personally couldn't get thru anything after Rocky the Original at this point.
Re: What have you been watching? (DVD or Films on TV)
well, i did it. i watched Rocky V.
it wasn't as bad as i remember it... mainly because i DON'T remember it. i'm pretty sure i saw this movie at some point, but seriously, most of the movie felt like something i'd never seen before. except maybe some of the bits at the end where he fights Tommy. but most of what i THOUGHT i remembered about the movie was actually stuff from Rocky VI. so maybe i hadn't seen it before after all? or maybe i just got punched in the head and developed memory problems just like Rocky.
anyway, i appreciated the attempt to bring it back into the world of the first 2 films, to get away from the rah-rah crowd-pleasing crap the previous that III and IV had descended to, but it just didn't work. mostly boring stuff about Rocky dealing with losing all his money, his son getting bullied, and then trying to relive his glory through training a younger boxer. eventually all this stuff would be accomplished much more successfully in Creed, here it's just lame.
it wasn't as bad as i remember it... mainly because i DON'T remember it. i'm pretty sure i saw this movie at some point, but seriously, most of the movie felt like something i'd never seen before. except maybe some of the bits at the end where he fights Tommy. but most of what i THOUGHT i remembered about the movie was actually stuff from Rocky VI. so maybe i hadn't seen it before after all? or maybe i just got punched in the head and developed memory problems just like Rocky.
anyway, i appreciated the attempt to bring it back into the world of the first 2 films, to get away from the rah-rah crowd-pleasing crap the previous that III and IV had descended to, but it just didn't work. mostly boring stuff about Rocky dealing with losing all his money, his son getting bullied, and then trying to relive his glory through training a younger boxer. eventually all this stuff would be accomplished much more successfully in Creed, here it's just lame.
Re: What have you been watching? (DVD or Films on TV)
just watched The Banshees of Inisherin for St. Patty's Day.
this movie is a lot like going out drinking with your Irish uncle... starts off funny as hell, but gets pretty damn dark by the end.
also, i'm pretty sure the moral of the story is - keep your fingers out of another man's ass.
this movie is a lot like going out drinking with your Irish uncle... starts off funny as hell, but gets pretty damn dark by the end.
also, i'm pretty sure the moral of the story is - keep your fingers out of another man's ass.
Re: What have you been watching? (DVD or Films on TV)
I have complicated feelings about Banshees of Inisherin. I really appreciated its dark humor and there are several fantastic performances, but Colin Farrell's ex-friend chopping off all of his fingers was so preposterous to me that I had a hard time engaging with the story. I watched it twice just to see if I appreciated it more the second time around and the answer is no, not really.TheBaxter wrote: ↑Mon Mar 20, 2023 11:54 am just watched The Banshees of Inisherin for St. Patty's Day.
this movie is a lot like going out drinking with your Irish uncle... starts off funny as hell, but gets pretty damn dark by the end.
also, i'm pretty sure the moral of the story is - keep your fingers out of another man's ass.
Re: What have you been watching? (DVD or Films on TV)
I have complicated feelings about Banshees of Inisherin. I really appreciated its dark humor and there are several fantastic performances, but Colin Farrell's ex-friend chopping off all of his fingers was so preposterous to me that I had a hard time engaging with the story. I watched it twice just to see if I enjoyed it more the second time around and the answer is no, not really.TheBaxter wrote: ↑Mon Mar 20, 2023 11:54 am just watched The Banshees of Inisherin for St. Patty's Day.
this movie is a lot like going out drinking with your Irish uncle... starts off funny as hell, but gets pretty damn dark by the end.
also, i'm pretty sure the moral of the story is - keep your fingers out of another man's ass.
Re: What have you been watching? (DVD or Films on TV)
i was waiting for some kind of explanation of why that guy was so extreme about not wanting to talk to Padraic anymore, figuring there was some kind of mental illness aspect to it as well. other than a couple of mentions of "despair" with the priest, which you could take as the 1920s Irish version of a mental illness diagnosis, it's never explained in a satisfying way. ultimately i think it was a) the aforementioned mental illness or trauma of some kind that never gets fully explained, b) maybe some reference to Van Gogh or the like (though Van Gogh didn't need his ear to paint, that guy did kinda need his fingers to play the fiddle), and c) some metaphorical thing to do with the Irish Civil War and the cost to oneself of anger and hatred.Ribbons wrote: ↑Tue Mar 21, 2023 4:10 pmI have complicated feelings about Banshees of Inisherin. I really appreciated its dark humor and there are several fantastic performances, but Colin Farrell's ex-friend chopping off all of his fingers was so preposterous to me that I had a hard time engaging with the story. I watched it twice just to see if I enjoyed it more the second time around and the answer is no, not really.TheBaxter wrote: ↑Mon Mar 20, 2023 11:54 am just watched The Banshees of Inisherin for St. Patty's Day.
this movie is a lot like going out drinking with your Irish uncle... starts off funny as hell, but gets pretty damn dark by the end.
also, i'm pretty sure the moral of the story is - keep your fingers out of another man's ass.
anyway, the sticking point for me wasn't what he did to his fingers but what happened after those fingers ended up inside that man's ass. that was hard to watch.
Re: What have you been watching? (DVD or Films on TV)
Watched Animal House last night for the first time in many years. Forgot how edgy it was. Fantastic comedy, that couldn't be made today.