[Film] Film 2024

[BBassic]

Your watched the awful one with the female cast?

There’s really only one Ghostbusters film. The first one. The rest are all pretty bad.

I'll preface this by imparting the knowledge that I have a Ghostbusters tattoo - I love all of them. Even the 2016 film which is objectively pretty terrible.

I'm a simple man - if a film with 'Ghostbusters' in the title has ghosts and the busting of those ghosts I'll shell out to see it.

It's my Aunts fault. When my parents would dump me round her house so they could have an afternoon to themselves my Aunt would put Ghostbusters (the original) on and leave me to it. Then she'd rewind it and I'd watch it again.

Did I say I'm a simple man?

 

[Acker79]

Your watched the awful one with the female cast?

There’s really only one Ghostbusters film. The first one. The rest are all pretty bad.

I've seen some terrible films in my time, so I feel like there are a lot of films people describe as 'awful', 'terrible', one of the 'worst ever made', and they're not even close to that bad. The 2016 Ghostbusters falls into that category for me.

It is clearly a couple of levels below the originals, but for me it doesn't earn the tag 'awful'.

I also really enjoyed Ghostbusters II and loved Afterlife (both significantly more than the 2016 version).

 

[The Clamp]

I've seen some terrible films in my time, so I feel like there are a lot of films people describe as 'awful', 'terrible', one of the 'worst ever made', and they're not even close to that bad. The 2016 Ghostbusters falls into that category for me.

It is clearly a couple of levels below the originals, but for me it doesn't earn the tag 'awful'.

I also really enjoyed Ghostbusters II and loved Afterlife (both significantly more than the 2016 version).

I agree. However, I know what I mean when I say it’s awful. And the 2016 film is awful. Might have been just bad but the bizarre performance by Chris Hemsworth pushed it over the “awful” line for me.

I am a big movie fan but not to the point I’ll like any old crap just because it’s a movie.

 

[Acker79]

Surprisingly appropriate double-bill today.

Drive-Away Dolls - Two women go on a roadtrip after one of them breaks up with a girlfriend, and the other decides she wants to go back home to Tallahassee. They pair up and get a drive-away car (one way car rental that delivers the car to a destination for the company), only to discover the car contains some items that some unsavoury types want to get their hand on. The two main characters are, of course, opposites, but both a looking at what to do with their lives and who they want to be. I thought this was fun, some playful scene transitions, including some psychedelic insterstitials. I always enjoy when an actor looks like they're having fun, and Margaret Qualley looks like she's having a lot of fun.

Kung Fu-Panda 4 - A Panda and a fox go on a roadtrip to face some unsavoury type. They are opposites, but both looking at what to do with their lives and who they want to be. I'm not really sure this was needed. The franchise was fine as a trilogy (and even the third was not overly necessary), but it was fine for what it was.

 

[Acker79]

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
American Godzilla movies are generally never considered as good as the Japanese ones. In my opinion, this is because they are treated as monster movies. They are sold on seeing the monster and the destruction it leaves in its path. Because of that there is less focus on the humans who talk and emote and give people a reason to care. Shin Godzilla (possibly my favourite G movie) was about government beaurocracy, godzilla was just the disaster that exposed it. Godzilla Minus One is about reconstruction and survivor's guilt, with godzilla being the physical manifestation of this. What are the themes or metaphors of the American movies? There are none, they are about giant lizards and giant apes.

So I went into this with low expectations, and it was fine, I guess. Pacing was a little off. It felt relentless for a while, then dragged for a while. Very little plot. Everyone in the film knows the exact right thing to do at every moment, (just discovered a new civilisation and already know everythin about them, their prophecies and their way of life, happen to have a device for healing with the specific antidote pre-loaded.

But it delivers what the recent american Godzilla movies tend to deliver - big CGI monsters fighting. It feels unfair to be critical of a film that isn't hiding what it is or what it is trying to do. If you are expecting more than that from it, it's your own fault.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

'Civil War' looks like it might be interesting this US election year despite the trailer looking a bit Netflixy...

 

[Easy 10]

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Given that I really liked Afterlife and the newly established characters within, I was really looking forward to this. Damn. What a let-down.
It almost blows its whole wad in the opening chase sequence, which is fun. But after that the whole thing just gets bogged down with sooooo much exposition. After half an hour I was checking my watch, never a good sign. There are too many new characters fighting for screen time with little or nothing to say or do. It plods along towards a final afterthought of a showdown with the main "nasty" turning up about 20 minutes from the end. Its a rushed, underwhelming ending which is in tune with the rest of it.

Sure they chuck a few nostalgia bones out there harking back to the original, for old farts like me who saw it as a 13 year old and loved it unconditionally ever since. But in this, its not nearly enough. They even managed to make Bill Murray dull, with a dialled-in performance which is absolutely criminal.

32%

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Just seen Sisu, strictly 2023, absolutely mental and very entertaining. If you like seeing evil nazi's getting destroyed by a single man killing machine this one is for you. 84 out of 100

 

[dolphins]

My annual push to watch nominated movies in a selection of categories (acting, writing, music, directing and film) continued with a doublebill at the Komedia.

First up was American Fiction, in which Jeffrey Wright plays a snobby writer who jokingly pens a trashy 'black' novel playing into stereotypical tropes he feels are not worthy, and finds that psuedonymous script sells more than any of his previous books. He has family issues to deal with and the stress and frustration of this adds to all of that. It was very funny, funnier than one might think taken from my description, but I'm trying not to give too much away.

This was followed by The Holdovers. Paul Giamatti as the strict, grumpy, superior teachers charged with guarding initially a handful of students left at a boarding scool over the christmas break. This becomes him and the most troublesome of the students. It's typical 'grumpy older man spends time with younger troublemaker and both grow from the experience'. Not as funnier as American Fiction, or as fresh, but more familiar and more heartful.

A good double bill.

Just watched American Fiction - it's on Prime Video FOC at the moment. Very entertaining, and a decent storyline which intrigues as to how the story unfolds. As with @Acker79 it is not something I want to reveal too much about...

 

[dolphins]

 

[Acker79]

I wsn't a big fan of Joker. Not really a fan of Taxi Driver and it was largely a tribute to that. Though I did recently watch and enjoyed King of Comedy, which was the other main film people compared it to, so maybe I'll give it another try. Anyway, the news the sequel would be a musical piqued my interest. The first trailer has been released and now my interest has dampened a little.

 

[Stat Brother]

I:ve just finished watching on Prime RoboDoc.
A four part documentary on the making of RoboCop.

IF you are a cinephile of a certain vintage it's an absolutely must watch programme.

 

[The Lemming Stomper]

The First Omen...

Plot hole galore continuity wise with the brilliant original made this effort , imo, a huge disappointment..

Stick to 'Immaculate' for your pregnant nuns fix !

 

[Easy 10]

I:ve just finished watching on Prime RoboDoc.
A four part documentary on the making of RoboCop.

IF you are a cinephile of a certain vintage it's an absolutely must watch programme.

Madam you have suffered an emotional shock. I will notify a rape crisis centre.

 

[Stat Brother]

Madam you have suffered an emotional shock. I will notify a rape crisis centre.

She's interviewed - everyone is interviewed.

The film is pre-computer so how they did the effects is mighty impressive.
The actors, with the exception of Nancy Allen, are all seriously unhinged.
Paul V makes the actors look normal.

It's easily the best 'making of' I've seen.

 

[Acker79]

I:ve just finished watching on Prime RoboDoc.
A four part documentary on the making of RoboCop.

IF you are a cinephile of a certain vintage it's an absolutely must watch programme.

I think I've got the wrong film https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/B0B5YRDLSJ/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r

 

[Stat Brother]

I think I've got the wrong film https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/B0B5YRDLSJ/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r

yes you have.

 

[Weststander]

We watched Civil War today, I think it premiered this week. We’re in NYC.

I liked it, Mrs.W loathed it .

It wasn’t as deep politically as I’d hoped, but incredibly hard to squeeze that into 110 minutes. Don’t expect a good v evil storyline, the events are deliberately more chaotic than that.

 

[Brightonfan1983]

I:ve just finished watching on Prime RoboDoc.
A four part documentary on the making of RoboCop.

IF you are a cinephile of a certain vintage it's an absolutely must watch programme.

I've just grinned myself silly watching the first part of this, so so so entertaining - and proper 'behind the scenes' fascinating. I'm going to watch the film again before carrying on, there're so many little details they point out, I really should have them fresh in my mind.

What a joy!

 

[Stat Brother]

I've just grinned myself silly watching the first part of this, so so so entertaining - and proper 'behind the scenes' fascinating. I'm going to watch the film again before carrying on, there're so many little details they point out, I really should have them fresh in my mind.

What a joy!

From memory I don't think they let out all the crazies in ep 1