The Official Movie Discussion Thread

[Jaysin]

I just finished The Predator(2018) and boy, what a mess. This was a bad made for cable flick

[RKOwnage]

Hey friends, been a bit but I'm back here. My wife and I wrote some reviews for the Best Picture nominees if you're interested:

 

King Richard, Don't Look Up, The Power of the Dog, CODA, Dune, West Side Story, Drive My Car, Belfast, Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, plus I also did shorter ones for Best International, Documentary, and Animated Features as well as Short Film nominees.

 

If you like it feel free to subscribe to the mailing list at the bottom! We don't spam and we don't post all that much since it's just a tiny little hobby, but you can get updated if we do.

[djskeemask]

I just finished The Predator(2018) and boy, what a mess. This was a bad made for cable flick

 

Is that a newer Predator, as in the dreadlocked snarling creature, movie? Some of my favs were the Alien vs. Predator movies. The storylines in those are awesome!

(PS...Sorry for your loss, bud.)

[djskeemask]

The one thing that has kept me away from Encanto is his involvement in it. Find him to be "meh" at best. I guess I can put him away in my head and enjoy the movie for what it is.

 

I try to catch Big City Greens on Disney channel. Yes, I'm an old man that likes cartoons. LOL. But, I won't watch Encanto because of the constant spamming of the movie with a commercial with the most annoying song introducing the characters for it.

[The Swanton825]

I try to catch Big City Greens on Disney channel. Yes, I'm an old man that likes cartoons. LOL. But, I won't watch Encanto because of the constant spamming of the movie with a commercial with the most annoying song introducing the characters for it.

 

Thank God it isn't just me who can't stand that ad! The song doesn't even sound good! It reminds me of when they used to try and dub the songs in anime and force the English lyrics no matter how hard it was for the VAs to sound remotely natural.

[Jaysin]

Recently watched:

 

The Protege- This was a massive disappointment. Everyone was just so...wooden. Story was interesting, but the writing was all over the place.

 

Battle Beyond the Stars- I've seen this a million times, but it was Roger Corman's birthday so dusted it off. It really is the epitome of cult classic sci fi. It's a blatant Star Wars/Kurosawa rip off and it leans hardcore into that. It's not a "prestige film" or anything, but I love this silly little romp.

 

The Wailing- This one has been sticking with me. If you're a fan of the darker stuff and don't mind subtitles, this is a must watch. It's a slow burn, but very intense once things start piecing together.

[Jaysin]

Recently watched:

 

Jolt- Randomly saw an ad for this one and thought it looked like a lot of fun. Kate Beckinsale is still one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood. There's a fun twist near the end too. If you're a fan of super fun action flicks, highly recommend this one.

 

X(2022)- This is gnarly. It's a total love letter to the classic slasher movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and even a little creature feature thrown in for good measure. Also, it was awesome to randomly see Kid Cudi in a movie. I had no idea he was in it and boom!

[The Swanton825]

Recently watched:

 

X(2022)- This is gnarly. It's a total love letter to the classic slasher movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and even a little creature feature thrown in for good measure. Also, it was awesome to randomly see Kid Cudi in a movie. I had no idea he was in it and boom!

 

I'm interested in anything that does a slasher throwback correctly. Hatchet is one of my all time favorite horror movies for that exact reason. Definitely going to be keeping an eye for this one on streaming!

 

Finally watched The Batman and I'll admit I was skeptical of Matt Reeves being to make an almost three hour Batman movie not outstay its welcome but he did it and then some! I loved everyone's performance in this movie, Pattinson is already among the ranks of the best to play Batman IMO (I thought his was a little wooden when out of the batsuit but that can be chalked up to this being before he really develops his billionaire playboy philanthropist image), Jeffrey Wright was a perfect choice for Gordon, Paul Dano's spin on Riddler worked great despite how silly that mask was, Zoe Kravitz's Catwoman felt like she came straight out of the Arkham or Telltale games, Colin Farrell channeling the spirit of James Gandolfini with Penguin, John Turturro reminding everyone that he can be an awesome actor when he wants as Falcone, the list goes on. I could rave about this movie for hours if I wanted to, but I'll just close on this note: if DC and WB can find a director who loves Superman as much as Matt Reeves loves Batman, they could legitimately have a shot at overtaking Marvel.

[BHK1978]

Paul Dano's spin on Riddler worked great despite how silly that mask was.

 

I don't know, I found his portrayal to be more inline with the Joker than the Riddler. I never really thought of the Riddler as being a lunatic in the vain of the Joker. I always felt like the Riddler should more like a Bond villain, in that while yes there could be some sort of mental health issues he suffers from. He is more intelligent and cunning. I felt like this version of the Riddler was a whiny mentally ill person.

 

Also, I did like the film but I felt like it was rather simple, for lack of a better word, and the plot for it was not very deep. Especially seeing how it lasted nearly three hours.

[Jaysin]

I'm interested in anything that does a slasher throwback correctly. Hatchet is one of my all time favorite horror movies for that exact reason. Definitely going to be keeping an eye for this one on streaming!

 

Finally watched The Batman and I'll admit I was skeptical of Matt Reeves being to make an almost three hour Batman movie not outstay its welcome but he did it and then some! I loved everyone's performance in this movie, Pattinson is already among the ranks of the best to play Batman IMO (I thought his was a little wooden when out of the batsuit but that can be chalked up to this being before he really develops his billionaire playboy philanthropist image), Jeffrey Wright was a perfect choice for Gordon, Paul Dano's spin on Riddler worked great despite how silly that mask was, Zoe Kravitz's Catwoman felt like she came straight out of the Arkham or Telltale games, Colin Farrell channeling the spirit of James Gandolfini with Penguin, John Turturro reminding everyone that he can be an awesome actor when he wants as Falcone, the list goes on. I could rave about this movie for hours if I wanted to, but I'll just close on this note: if DC and WB can find a director who loves Superman as much as Matt Reeves loves Batman, they could legitimately have a shot at overtaking Marvel.

 

The Hatchet series is one of my favorites! Such an underrated gem of a franchise. Victor Crowley rules. Have you seen Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon? It's an amazing homage to slashers while also being a genuinely fantastic movie. Plus, the literally always amazing Scott Wilson is in it!

 

As for the Batman, I cannot say enough good things about it. My only real complaint was that we knew Paul Dano was the Riddler so that diner scene was sort of anti-climatic.

 

The deleted Joker scene is super dope too. I love how Matt made the movie without any sequels in mind, but still set it up to be a franchise. Barry Keoghan is super charismatic and was the best part of the Eternals movie. Which I know isn't saying much considering Eternals was subpar, but I think Barry could end up being a fantastic Joker.

 

Unrelated to all of the above, but I randomly stumbled on the movie Old Henry the other night and holy moly, what a fun ride! I've said it in the past, but I LOVE westerns, and this is one of the best ones in recent memory IMO. Plus, Tim Blake Nelson continues to show that he's one of Hollywood's unsung heroes.

 

I still hold out hope that Nelson will return as the Leader in the MCU.

[The Swanton825]

I don't know, I found his portrayal to be more inline with the Joker than the Riddler. I never really thought of the Riddler as being a lunatic in the vain of the Joker. I always felt like the Riddler should more like a Bond villain, in that while yes there could be some sort of mental health issues. He is more intelligent and cunning. I felt like this version of the Riddler was a whiny mentally ill person.

 

Also, I did like the film but I felt like it was rather simple, for lack of a better word, and the plot for it was not very deep. Especially seeing how it lasted nearly three hours.

 

I feel like in most cases (at least where I'm familiar with him) Riddler is a whiny lunatic. He's a narcissist driven by a need for attention and a massive superiority complex, hence his obsessive compulsion to leave riddles behind to "prove" his intellect. I can't remember if it was an B:TAS episode or from one of the tie-in comics, but there's this great Riddler story where he purposely tries to commit a crime spree without leaving any riddles or clues behind but eventually Batman catches him because of a riddle he left behind without even thinking about it. It culminates in this great moment where Riddler realizes he might actually need help and goes to Arkham without a fight.

 

The Hatchet series is one of my favorites! Such an underrated gem of a franchise. Victor Crowley rules. Have you seen Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon? It's an amazing homage to slashers while also being a genuinely fantastic movie. Plus, the literally always amazing Scott Wilson is in it!

 

As for the Batman, I cannot say enough good things about it. My only real complaint was that we knew Paul Dano was the Riddler so that diner scene was sort of anti-climatic.

 

The deleted Joker scene is super dope too. I love how Matt made the movie without any sequels in mind, but still set it up to be a franchise. Barry Keoghan is super charismatic and was the best part of the Eternals movie. Which I know isn't saying much considering Eternals was subpar, but I think Barry could end up being a fantastic Joker.

 

Unrelated to all of the above, but I randomly stumbled on the movie Old Henry the other night and holy moly, what a fun ride! I've said it in the past, but I LOVE westerns, and this is one of the best ones in recent memory IMO. Plus, Tim Blake Nelson continues to show that he's one of Hollywood's unsung heroes.

 

I still hold out hope that Nelson will return as the Leader in the MCU.

 

Haven't seen Behind the Mask but it's on my comically long watchlist so I do plan to get around to it at some point.

 

The reveal still worked for me in that it fit perfectly with this Riddler's whole vibe as a David Fincher-esque villain. He's a dorky-looking nobody who would never be seen as a threat. No scars, no disfigurement, just some random guy.

 

I'm only familiar with Keoghan from his part in Chernobyl but I agree he did a good job. Though I do hope Reeves sticks to his guns in not wanting Joker front and center in any sequels so other villains can get some time in the sun for once.

 

Also haven't seen Old Henry, or any westerns at all in the past few years come to think of it. Last one I watched was Bone Tomahawk which was honestly more of a slasher movie masquerading as a western. I've got a lot of catching up to do with movies.

[Jaysin]

Haven't seen Behind the Mask but it's on my comically long watchlist so I do plan to get around to it at some point.

 

The reveal still worked for me in that it fit perfectly with this Riddler's whole vibe as a David Fincher-esque villain. He's a dorky-looking nobody who would never be seen as a threat. No scars, no disfigurement, just some random guy.

 

I'm only familiar with Keoghan from his part in Chernobyl but I agree he did a good job. Though I do hope Reeves sticks to his guns in not wanting Joker front and center in any sequels so other villains can get some time in the sun for once.

 

Also haven't seen Old Henry, or any westerns at all in the past few years come to think of it. Last one I watched was Bone Tomahawk which was honestly more of a slasher movie masquerading as a western. I've got a lot of catching up to do with movies.

 

If Joker is a main villain in another entry, I hope it's more like how Penguin was in The Batman, where's while important, is not the main baddie.

 

As for villains I'd really like to see, I would have said Hush, but Riddler basically stole his entire gimmick in this movie.

 

Others that could be fun:

 

Professor Pyg is pure nightmare fuel and would fit the neo-noir aesthetic of Reeves Bat-verse.

 

They hinted at Bane with Bruce using Venom in The Batman, but I'm still trying to get over how awful Tom Hardy was in DKR. That stupid voice haunts me and infuriates me

 

A properly done Mr Freeze would be incredible, especially with his heartbreaking origin from Batman: TAS.

 

Owlman would be a lot of fun, but I just love the character. Would probably be a bit too confusing to the more casual fans.

 

Man-Bat and Clayface are two I would absolutely adore, but Reeves didn't really cover meta humans in his world yet, so who knows what the rules are.

 

Hugo Strange would fit the aesthetic as well, but I almost feel it would be better to introduce him when Batman is more established.

 

A Court of Owls movie would be fantastic.

 

In Bat-movie related stuff, I am very excited to see how Brendan Fraser does as Firefly in the upcoming Batgirl movie. I love that Brendan is getting a career rejuvenation.

[The Swanton825]

If Joker is a main villain in another entry, I hope it's more like how Penguin was in The Batman, where's while important, is not the main baddie.

 

As for villains I'd really like to see, I would have said Hush, but Riddler basically stole his entire gimmick in this movie.

 

Others that could be fun:

 

Professor Pyg is pure nightmare fuel and would fit the neo-noir aesthetic of Reeves Bat-verse.

 

They hinted at Bane with Bruce using Venom in The Batman, but I'm still trying to get over how awful Tom Hardy was in DKR. That stupid voice haunts me and infuriates me

 

A properly done Mr Freeze would be incredible, especially with his heartbreaking origin from Batman: TAS.

 

Owlman would be a lot of fun, but I just love the character. Would probably be a bit too confusing to the more casual fans.

 

Man-Bat and Clayface are two I would absolutely adore, but Reeves didn't really cover meta humans in his world yet, so who knows what the rules are.

 

Hugo Strange would fit the aesthetic as well, but I almost feel it would be better to introduce him when Batman is more established.

 

A Court of Owls movie would be fantastic.

 

In Bat-movie related stuff, I am very excited to see how Brendan Fraser does as Firefly in the upcoming Batgirl movie. I love that Brendan is getting a career rejuvenation.

 

I'd be on board for any of those, particularly Man-Bat. If for no other reason than to show the idiots responsible for Morbius how you do a tragic monster kind villain.

 

What I'd really love is an adaptation of Batman: Gothic, but it's so overtly supernatural by the end that there's no way we'd ever see it done on film. Not to mention Mr. Whisper isn't exactly the kind of villain who you could easily sell toys of.

[Jaysin]

Finally watched Kubo and the Two Strings last night and it did not disappoint.

 

Travis Knight is quickly reaching Henry Selick(Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach, and Coraline) levels of amazingness with directing stop motion. The animation was just so gorgeous. The plot was incredibly interesting and the voice cast was amazing.

 

I also decided to finally check out Cape Fear and it was mind numbingly boring. I made it half way through and turned it off. I love Scorsese and De Niro, but De Niro's accent was awful. The way the camera would zoom in on things was annoying too. Or when people would walk directly at the camera and the camera would cut at the last second. Maybe one day I'll go back and give it another shot, but meh.

[BobbyRogers]

I thought The Batman was so well directed and the acting was off the charts.

Yes, the feel was like The Long Halloween and Year 1 (or 2).

 

And yes, as someone who has been reading comics since 1980, I can vouch that The Riddler is indeed a psychopath and menace to society.

[dvdWarrior]

Just finished watching the new Predator movie, Prey, on Hulu, and I have to say... it's roughly a million and a half times better than I ever thought it would be. All things considered, I fully expected it to stink, but then I heard Mr. H on the YouTubes give it some pretty high praise, so I decided I'd give it a watch.

 

I probably would have watched it anyway, at least once, as it is a Predator movie.

 

But yeah...

 

I think it's pretty good.

 

The female lead is NOT a Mary Sue, and I actually liked her quite a lot.

 

Not the biggest fan of the Predator's new look in this one. His actual face, I mean, not talking about his mask here.

 

This one, I'd say... well... he's a PARTICULARLY ugly mo... well, you know.

 

Most all the concerns I had going in didn't pan out.

 

Predator's hunting code of honor remains intact; Predator is, in fact, fairly badass, and most importantly of all, the Predator does not at any point team up with the hero girl, to take down the "Evil White Folk". The so-called Woke agenda - if it was in play here, it wasn't overbearing, so that's a plus.

 

No, the Predator laid waste to pretty much everyone, regardless of... well, anything really.

 

Those aforementioned white folks were pretty vile though, but fairly accurate to the era.

 

Also, I think there was only one line of dialogue that was what you'd call a call back to the original... but I think it worked pretty well here, and fit in nicely, so no complaint there.

 

If you told me this was the Predator's first run-in with humans, I could buy it. This Predator was definitely less experienced than the one we saw in the original Predator, at least when it came to dealing with people, and it took more of a whooping that you usually see Predators take.

 

There is some.... slightly suspect CGI here and there, and like I said, I'm not the world's biggest fan of the Predator's look here, (I much prefer the original design), but for the most part, I did very much enjoy the film and can give it a recommendation. For a modern take on the classic Predator, this isn't half bad. Plus, I hear there's a second version of the film that was recorded in the actual Comanche language for realism's sake. If that's true, that's pretty cool, and I might have to check it out. I watched the basic, mostly English version, because... well... I wanted to understand what they were saying, but if I see the other version in here, I'll probably give it a watch at some point as well.

 

Now, to go to bed and officially find out if watching it at 3 AM was a good idea or not...

[Makhai]

Just finished watching the new Predator movie, Prey, on Hulu, and I have to say... it's roughly a million and a half times better than I ever thought it would be. All things considered, I fully expected it to stink, but then I heard Mr. H on the YouTubes give it some pretty high praise, so I decided I'd give it a watch.

 

I probably would have watched it anyway, at least once, as it is a Predator movie.

 

But yeah...

 

I think it's pretty good.

 

The female lead is NOT a Mary Sue, and I actually liked her quite a lot.

 

Not the biggest fan of the Predator's new look in this one. His actual face, I mean, not talking about his mask here.

 

This one, I'd say... well... he's a PARTICULARLY ugly mo... well, you know.

 

Most all the concerns I had going in didn't pan out.

 

Predator's hunting code of honor remains intact; Predator is, in fact, fairly badass, and most importantly of all, the Predator does not at any point team up with the hero girl, to take down the "Evil White Folk". The so-called Woke agenda - if it was in play here, it wasn't overbearing, so that's a plus.

 

No, the Predator laid waste to pretty much everyone, regardless of... well, anything really.

 

Those aforementioned white folks were pretty vile though, but fairly accurate to the era.

 

Also, I think there was only one line of dialogue that was what you'd call a call back to the original... but I think it worked pretty well here, and fit in nicely, so no complaint there.

 

If you told me this was the Predator's first run-in with humans, I could buy it. This Predator was definitely less experienced than the one we saw in the original Predator, at least when it came to dealing with people, and it took more of a whooping that you usually see Predators take.

 

There is some.... slightly suspect CGI here and there, and like I said, I'm not the world's biggest fan of the Predator's look here, (I much prefer the original design), but for the most part, I did very much enjoy the film and can give it a recommendation. For a modern take on the classic Predator, this isn't half bad. Plus, I hear there's a second version of the film that was recorded in the actual Comanche language for realism's sake. If that's true, that's pretty cool, and I might have to check it out. I watched the basic, mostly English version, because... well... I wanted to understand what they were saying, but if I see the other version in here, I'll probably give it a watch at some point as well.

 

Now, to go to bed and officially find out if watching it at 3 AM was a good idea or not...

 

 

When I heard Tractenberg was attached and it was being give a budget of basically nothing and was getting dumped onto Hulu. I was actually pretty bullish. And it turned out basically as I expected. I'm over the "lets make the same exact movie with insert ethnic female lead _______, market it with inclusion, rinse, repeat," meme. It's morally and creatively bankrupt and exploitive.

 

But this is the best possible example of that. It reminded me a lot of The Revenant in a weird way.

[dvdWarrior]

When I heard Tractenberg was attached and it was being give a budget of basically nothing and was getting dumped onto Hulu. I was actually pretty bullish. And it turned out basically as I expected. I'm over the "lets make the same exact movie with insert ethnic female lead _______, market it with inclusion, rinse, repeat," meme. It's morally and creatively bankrupt and exploitive.

 

But this is the best possible example of that. It reminded me a lot of The Revenant in a weird way.

 

To be fair, when I first saw that it had a female lead, and in particular an ethnic female lead... I was very much concerned. And honestly, the movie might qualify as 'woke', but in my opinion, it wasn't as egregious as a lot of modern TV shows and movies have been , and I did find the main character to be fairly likable.

[The Swanton825]

I'd also like to add to the praise for Prey. I absolutely loved the movie and honestly wish I'd pulled the trigger on watching it in Comanche. This is the first Predator movie since the second one to get to the heart of what I love about the series: a standard premise from another genre gets upended into a desperate fight for survival against a lone alien hunter.

 

Predator - Standard Arnie action flick

Predator 2 - Standard 90s crime thriller

Prey - Standard coming of age Oscar bait

 

This is why I think Predators and The Predator didn't hit right. Predators is just The Most Dangerous Game, but with alien hunters and The Predator is your run-of-the-mill government screws up containing an alien movie. In all the good Predator movies, the Predator almost feels like it's invading the plot of a different film.

 

Those aforementioned white folks were pretty vile though, but fairly accurate to the era.

 

Having grown up in the general area Prey is set, I can confirm that it's far more accurate than most films. Particularly the killing of bison and leaving them to rot save for the fur.

[SanX]

In all the good Predator movies, the Predator almost feels like it's invading the plot of a different film.

 

This is such a great way to see it. Definitely agree with you.

 

I was excited about the Prey since the first trailer was dropped, was skeptical after the marketing direction, now I am excited again.

[Jaysin]

My rankings of the Predator movies

 

7. The Predator

6. AvP Requiem

5. AvP

4. Predator 2

3. Predators

2. Predator

1. Prey

 

I really enjoyed Prey as my rankings showed. Naru was a very likable lead. There was some really bad CGI at parts, but overall, a fun sci fi action flick.

[dvdWarrior]

Don't know if I could put it over the original, (be difficult for the second one as well, since I've loved that one for decades at this point), but I definitely rank it WELL above any and all of the sequels, with only Predators putting in a passable performance.

 

Prey is very great, in my opinion.

[djskeemask]

Also wanted to throw in my praise for Prey. I thought it started a little slow, but definitely had me glued once the Predator was introduced. I know I may get some flack for this, but I really love the AVP movies. I love the storyline idea. They "train" in Antarctica in an underground pyramid and have hunting 'games'. Also, one of the few crossovers that work bringing 2 sci-fi realms together.

[The Swanton825]

Also wanted to throw in my praise for Prey. I thought it started a little slow, but definitely had me glued once the Predator was introduced. I know I may get some flack for this, but I really love the AVP movies. I love the storyline idea. They "train" in Antarctica in an underground pyramid and have hunting 'games'. Also, one of the few crossovers that work bringing 2 sci-fi realms together.

 

I thought the first AvP was good, but could have been better. I definitely liked the concept of the Predators breeding Xenomorphs as training prey to be a cool idea. AvP 2 on the other hand was a massive overcorrection on the lack of gore in the first movie and felt like it was made by a bunch of edgy teens who think mindless splatter is how you make a "serious" horror movie.

[Jaysin]

I thought the first AvP was good, but could have been better. I definitely liked the concept of the Predators breeding Xenomorphs as training prey to be a cool idea. AvP 2 on the other hand was a massive overcorrection on the lack of gore in the first movie and felt like it was made by a bunch of edgy teens who think mindless splatter is how you make a "serious" horror movie.

 

Those have to be the same people writing wrestling promos these days where everyone is cussing to be edgy and cool.

 

Saying shit or p***y doesn't make a promo good Jungle Boy.