40Cent @ the movies

[Centurion40]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles uses enough 3D to make it worth the extra cash to bother to go and see it in 3D.  Interesting plot and truly menacing baddies.  Enough bystanders and baddies get killed to make it too harsh for small kids, but my 10 year-old took it all in stride.  I would compare the story and action to a Spiderman movie.

30 out of 40

[undercovergeek]

Lucy started off far better than it ended.  I found it a bit uneven, not as extreme as the TV series The Strain, but still noticeable.  Great looking movie, but it could have benefited with another writer, or two- especially since it has been proven that we use far more than 10% of our brain.

33 out of 40

i fancy this one

[Centurion40]

Lucy started off far better than it ended.  I found it a bit uneven, not as extreme as the TV series The Strain, but still noticeable.  Great looking movie, but it could have benefited with another writer, or two- especially since it has been proven that we use far more than 10% of our brain.

33 out of 40

i fancy this one

Let me know what you think, once you've seen it.

[undercovergeek]

will do

anyone for Hercules?

[BanzaiCat]

A good friend of mine saw Hercules and said it was "bloody Godawful."

She likes The Rock, too, and knows he's a weak actor, but she said "even for him, this was pretty terrible."

[undercovergeek]

yeah, thats what i thought would happen

[JasonPratt]

Dad and I saw Herc yesterday afternoon. I thought it was great, and I'm ambivalent about the Rock. (I don't not like him but neither am I specially a fan. He's all right.)

It takes a rather folklorish development approach, and I can understand viewers feeling cheated by that: the trailers already show about 90% of the mythically awesome shots (though the clever end-credit sequence stylishly re-presents the same scenes with Herc being helped by his team to fight the monsters instead of alone -- which is also a bit of a clever cheat since we were already shown one of those monsters not being a monster at all).

D. Johnson acquitted himself amiably well, and looks good as Hercules, playing his limited range with some subtlety and gusto. His teammates were generally interesting and sometimes cleverly written. The other actors outside the team were more variable but generally serviceable. The story makes a hash of Hercules myths, but that's kind-of on purpose, and I can't think of a Herc property that doesn't -- which is probably just as well as the older stories would be rather unsympathetic for modern audiences (being rather more like the God of War games, and not by accident.) While more kewl things happen in Disney's animated feature from, gosh is it already a decade or more ago?? -- I can't imagine any Grog not liking this film better. I appreciated the numerous touches of verisimilitude (though exactly how much of it is period-appropriate I can't put a finger on). It's certainly smarter and far less pretentious than the Snyder/Miller 300 film, while still knowing how to play up the action sequences,  and I say that as someone who kind of appreciates that film, too, for what it is.

Far better than Tran4, I'd also argue better overall than Amazing2. Good enough that I'm seriously conflicted about whether I'd rank it better than The Thirteenth Warrior from back in the 90s, which it shares many aspects with (though by the same token anyone who dislikes that movie will probably dislike this by proportion.)

It looked to be setting up a duology with the Argonauts, in very subtle but notable ways, but so far I'm doubtful whether it'll make enough money to greenlight a sequel (it made less than $2.2Mill this weekend), and I think that's a shame: it deserves to make a good profit in my opinion.

Ingrid Berdal, the Norwegian actress who plays Atalanta, also deserved for this to be her breakout English-speaking role -- maybe as Armistice in the upcoming Westworld remake she'll get her break. She had a good presence and brought the action convincingly, and though her English was a bit stiff she has enough classical training to act through that difficulty. Personally I thought her character and characterization was adorable.  But even aside from my subjective impression, objectively she worked hard to bring up a potentially thankless role to the game-level of the other veteran character actors on the team. I specially like the touch of her praying to Athena (I think, couldn't quite hear that detail) to be merciful in judging the souls of the enemies whom she's about to thoroughly and efficiently smite. All the team gets a chance to shine to some extent, multiple times, but after Herc himself she gets the most best-moments.  8)


Certainly the script has some problems, but even the most serious problem (regarding a chief antagonist who seems to take advantage of a situation where he never should have been in any such position to do so, and then who completely disappears from the plot without any accounting once his purpose has been served -- despite clear hints that he would positively factor into the resolution of the story!) ends up fairly trivial if glaringly so.

Much better than it has any right to be. Grogs will appreciate the tactical points, too; looks like actual fieldwork by period-appropriate numbers, rather than CGI soldiers.

[MikeGER]

Good enough that I'm seriously conflicted about whether I'd rank it better than The Thirteenth Warrior from back in the 90s, which it shares many aspects with (though by the same token anyone who dislikes that movie will probably dislike this by proportion.)
ate numbers, rather than CGI soldiers.

The Thirteenth Warrior  ...by happenstance i saw it as a rerun on TV but with my projector in HD  this weekend ...and couldn't stop watching it  8)  even so i have seen it many times (not so sure about in HD on my wall recently)

the movie is from 1999 and i recognized an astonishing socio psychological effect in the way i see traditional Arabs on the screen differ from the first time i saw the movie over all the reruns i saw over the one and a half decade that had past by...  when that movie was released it was pre-9/11 and what came with it, pre several wars, revolution, and all kind of monkey shit in the Middle East including latest Gaza, and pre-Salafist converts spreading in my county, pre-ISIS-terror, pre Syrian refugees youth my government was stupid enuf to let into my hometown tryring to torch our city synagog a few weeks ago ...  in 1999 a traditional Arab (hero or protagonist) was a kind of cool guy, and it always had the eyes-a-twinkle charm of tales form One Thousand and One Nights.
But now when i saw that guy in his traditional Arab gear in the first quarter of the movie, i immediately just 'thought': what does that damend terrorist in that nice movie, here they go the fu**ing ancestors of financiers of Islamic terrorist groups today...   

I am not a happy 'Nordman' these days. ...and i some how even see the 13th warrior backgroundstory fight againts the 'fire-worm' as an allegory for our struggle today..... Go, bring my armor   

[BanzaiCat]

I finally watched Draft Day. I didn't expect much and wasn't disappointed at all. Jennifer Garner looks like a chipmunk; she's not nearly as cute as she thinks she is and I don't like her at all. Plus it was creepy as hell seeing old Kevin Costner being her love interest. As was mentioned by others here, I could have done completely without the romance plot as it was ham-fisted and completely unnecessary. But that's Hollywood for you. I'm surprised they didn't create a fictional NFL franchise in China to pander to the Asian market. Go figure.

I read one online review where someone said Draft Day was all about people wearing logos standing in front of other logos. He had a point, but really, it's a movie about the NFL using NFL logos, so of course they're going to splash the things everywhere. I was pleased to see the Houston Texans represented, though the guy that represented them was a complete zum-dweebie. I did, however, enjoy the maneuvering Costner went through and also the fact that the movie paralleled both the Mario Williams/Vince Young draft and the Manziel/Clowney draft (though more the former than the latter). IRL, the Browns would have gone with the dickhead quarterback. But overall, it was entertaining, except for the forced romance bits.

28/40

[endfire79]

Introducing my wife to Highlander (1986) tonight. She's into swords and dueling  :)  Hopefully this passes the test.

[eyebiter]

.

[endfire79]

Introducing my wife to Highlander (1986) tonight. She's into swords and dueling  :)  Hopefully this passes the test.

After Highlander, suggest you skip Highlander 2, and watch the third movie instead. 
If your wife is still interested in the franchise, there are six seasons of Highlander: the Series.

Highlander I went well, although she was a little bleh about some of the battle sequences after rewatching films like Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven.  Although she did catch a few details, like Ramirez referring to Charles V of Spain.

Agreed, the only reason I'd ever go back to Highlander II was for Michael Ironside.  I missed the few movies after that one, but I do remember The Series when it was on TV.

This went well - might as well see how she likes "The Duelists", and then Verhoeven's "Flesh & Blood "

[JasonPratt]

She ought to adore the verisimilitude for the Duelists! -- groggy without being overly grotty (in the Verhoevenesque "human intestines can leap 30 feet out of the human body, no seriously, not kidding" sort of way).


Incidentally, do y'all do fencing or SCA or any of the oriental sword arts?

[undercovergeek]

Never mind sword fighting I'm still waiting for your mysterious conclusion to the ' has anyone read Patrick rothfuss' from 2 years ago

[endfire79]

She ought to adore the verisimilitude for the Duelists! -- groggy without being overly grotty (in the Verhoevenesque "human intestines can leap 30 feet out of the human body, no seriously, not kidding" sort of way).


Incidentally, do y'all do fencing or SCA or any of the oriental sword arts?

She likes swordplay in the movies, and anything set in the classical period up to the Victorian age.  However I couldn't get her into The Vikings so far yet.  The Nord folk did not see to get her attention enough.  I've never got into fencing, kendo or any of that stuff; I just like the subject material a lot  :)