The Movies

[shabu]

Just saw Arrival last night, and I agree, it was fantastic.

yup, another vote here.

[Joel Perdue]

That scene is amazing. Also:

Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan: [Ahmed is given a Viking sword] I cannot lift this.
Herger the Joyous: Grow stronger!

[Christopher Anderson]

Saw the Mechanic 2 last night, absolutely horrible film. The first was a decent output but the sequel was just a waste of time. It was at the redbox so I picked it up but Jason Stathams career has just gone downhill.

[Christopher Anderson]

Watched The Magnificent Seven last night and I can say that I was thoroughly pleased with the movie. The plot was a bit used up, but the actors made up for that, and the movie was as good a western as you're going to get these days.

[Mark Rippetoe]

In the middle of it now. Our impression was quite different, seems like a poor, almost pandering to 2016 culture-version of this classic story. And we haven't gotten to the credits yet, but there is no mention of Kurosawa on the packaging or in the intro credits. I hope I'm wrong.

[curlrackhog]

Watched Hell or High Water yesterday. I enjoyed it very much. It seemed like a modern Western in the spirit of No Country for Old Men.

[kfreeman85]

In the middle of it now. Our impression was quite different, seems like a poor, almost pandering to 2016 culture-version of this classic story. And we haven't gotten to the credits yet, but there is no mention of Kurosawa on the packaging or in the intro credits. I hope I'm wrong.

Having seen the movie I'd agree with this. It was entertaining but lacks all of the mastery of art that a lot of Kurosawa films and great westerns (The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly et. al.) have. Entertaining but a lot of change for change's sake.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Entertaining but a lot of change for change's sake.

The bane of the modern remake of the classic film.

[Mike C]

In the middle of it now. Our impression was quite different, seems like a poor version of this classic story. And we haven't gotten to the credits yet, but there is no mention of Kurosawa on the packaging or in the intro credits. I hope I'm wrong.

I can't say much given the company that employs me, but I will say (I watched it last night for the first time) - Rip is spot on here. Antoine Fuqua is one of the most overrated filmmakers working today. His only really good movie, Training Day, was fueled by an excellent script (David Ayer) and one of the great performances of the modern era (Denzel)

Good movies I've seen in the last week:

Hell or High Water - fucking fantastic
Fury - Ayer is an extremely underrated filmmaker.

Interesting Movie:
Passengers: it's original content, the script was much better than the movie, and it asks some very interesting/creepy questions. The movie has a ton of flaws and issues, but again, original works need to be supported. See it!

Bleh:
Equalizer: Fucking Fuqua again

Best movies of 2016:
The Witch - yeah the fucking witch. Works as a psychological thriller. Works as a horror movie. Works as a period piece. Fucking great on many levels.
Hell or High Water - Minimalist filmmaking done really well

There are some really good ones I haven't seen yet like La La Land, Sing Street, Moonlight etc.

Next tier:
Civil War, Jungle Book,


Random movie thought:

See Cop Car. Another great minimalist movie

Watched Hell or High Water yesterday. I enjoyed it very much. It seemed like a modern Western in the spirit of No Country for Old Men.

The West Texas Modern Western will become a sub genre. No Country was that good.

[Jonathon Sullivan]

Saw it, liked it. Casting Banderas was a great move. He made the cut for being Muslim with his looks although his character in the movie came across far more the action hero than in Crichton's book Eaters of the Dead. I liked the book better, but then BEOWULF(!). What more need be said?

The only thing more that need be said is you must read John Gardner's masterful and devastating novel, Grendel, which tells the magnificent story of Beowulf (one of my favorite books) from the point of view of the monster.

Slightly off-topic, because Grendel will never be made into a movie.

Since, for the first time in several years I'm not writing a book, I'm taking the time to read a novel, Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian.

Ho-Ly Shit. Also will not be a movie.