I've been trying to think of a good topic but all I've got is Movies.
As someone that has trouble with reading and concentration but loves SCIFI and magical woorrllds and all that cool stuff, movies are my favourite thing. Though I admit they probably fall short of their written counterpart.
Has anyone seen Chappie? I really loved it! A really cool take on the whole AI trope and made by the people that did District 9 (and Elysium but meh).
It had some bad reviews like "Done before" and people weren't happy with some of the acting (Namely that of DieAntwood) which I guess is kinda liike... They were good for people that aren't actors reallyy. And you had amazing people like Dev Patel in it and he was great! Sigourney Weaver! And Hugh Jackman in tiny shorts. So... tiny shorts.
"Done before" is a load of bullpoop though, especially that not long after Marvel jizzes out an AI based movie that everyone is salivating over. (I also salivated over it but I was decidedly unhappy about it) And if you really paid attention you'd see the awesome direction they took the story, it was really cool. I cried into my popcorn.
But then I enjoy movies like DOOM and the Tinkerbell movies so maybe I'm not the best to listen to. (Though I can admit DOOM is probably definitely awful but Chappie has major cool things going on and doesn't deserve the same treatment -complete denial-)
Soooo? Anybody seen something they LOVED or HAAAATED recently?
Or maybe just an old movie you love and wanna spread the love?
Please put spoilers under a spoiler! Haha duh.. like this without spaces; [spoiler ] [/spoiler ]
Posted: Wed May 13, 2015 3:03 pm
TowerHill
The reason people said Chappie had been done before is because the story, as presented by the trailer, has heavy similarities to the Short Circuit movies, in which a robot who is designed for combat gains artificial intelligence and discovers what it means to be alive. The robot, Number Five, is pursued by its creators and those who own the patent, namely the US Military and two programmers, one an American and one an Indian stereotype. Age of Ultron is inspired by a comic book (although the story of the film has little to do with the story of the movie) and has a great deal more original detail from what I understand. I haven't seen it yet, but I follow the comics and have heard good reviews from my family and friends who have already seen it.
As for movies I recently saw, well... I wasted twelve dollars and saw Jupiter Ascending. It was an absolute ******** of poor writing, wasted potential and cluttered designs that didn't have much definition or variation, which is really weird to say considering that there were so many different clever and creative ideas jam-packed into the world (or worlds -- it was science fiction, so naturally there was space travel). Basically, there was no definition, no organization, so all you got was, "Look! Look at everything we came up with! It's all on display! Isn't it cool?" There was no sense of, "Okay, now you left that planet, so here's another cool design that sets this planet aside from that one and makes it a complete and separate picture from the one we just left."
The characters were weak, either glossed over or given far too much detail with very little true development. The main character was a Mary Sue who continuously needed her wolfman boyfriend to save her. Three times, at least, she was either captured, about to die, or about to sign her life, heart and inheritance over to an evil business prince. The villain was an embarrassment with a hilariously over-the-top husky voice. It got so bad at times that I wished there were subtitles to explain what he said. I cringe for the actor who played him; Eddie Redmayne was up for an award for his acting in "The Theory of Everything," and now there's this piece of crap hanging over his career. Sean Bean's character just sort of blipped in and out of the story at will, as did his pretty-much-nonexistant daughter. Very little was explained in the movie, despite the fact that we were supposed to be getting an introduction to this world through the eyes of the main character. There's something about reincarnation, and bees, and gene therapy, and wings, and immortality, and some kind of political/economic power struggle... and cyborgs... and an elephant man...?
What really sucks is that the story had promise. It could have been the next Star Wars. There were a lot of neat concepts and a boatload of originality. The main problem is that they tried to write three stories -- or repeat the same story three times -- and tell them all at once. The characters, the action, the locations, and everything else just flew by before you could really get familiar with anything or anyone, and by the end, I couldn't have cared less if the villain defeated the hero or not.
TL;DR: The Wachowski team did not deliver. I would have to be drunk with friends on a sofa streaming the movie online for free to ever be able to enjoy the movie, and that's a real pity. '~'
As for older movies I really love that few people have seen or heard of, Dark City and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow are two of my many favorites. Dark City was basically the predecessor of the Matrix movies in both concept and FX, and Sky Captain is a crazy dieselpunk film with sets done entirely in CG with a tiny budget and big name actors like Jude Law and Angelina Jolie. It isn't perfect, but it's got a lot of cool effects and creative ideas that make it worth a look.
The reason people said Chappie had been done before is because the story, as presented by the trailer, has heavy similarities to the Number Five movies, in which a robot who is designed for combat gains artificial intelligence and discovers what it means to be alive. The robot, Number Five, is pursued by its creators and those who own the patent, namely the US Military and two programmers, one an American and one an Indian stereotype. Age of Ultron is inspired by a comic book (although the story of the film has little to do with the story of the movie) and has a great deal more original detail from what I understand. I haven't seen it yet, but I follow the comics and have heard good reviews from my family and friends who have already seen it.
As for movies I recently saw, well... I wasted twelve dollars and saw Jupiter Ascending. It was an absolute ******** of poor writing, wasted potential and cluttered designs that didn't have much definition or variation, which is really weird to say considering that there were so many different clever and creative ideas jam-packed into the world (or worlds -- it was science fiction, so naturally there was space travel). Basically, there was no definition, no organization, so all you got was, "Look! Look at everything we came up with! It's all on display! Isn't it cool?" There was no sense of, "Okay, now you left that planet, so here's another cool design that sets this planet aside from that one and makes it a complete and separate picture from the one we just left."
The characters were weak, either glossed over or given far too much detail with very little true development. The main character was a Mary Sue who continuously needed her wolfman boyfriend to save her. Three times, at least, she was either captured, about to die, or about to sign her life, heart and inheritance over to an evil business prince. The villain was an embarrassment with a hilariously over-the-top husky voice. It got so bad at times that I wished there were subtitles to explain what he said. I cringe for the actor who played him; Eddie Redmayne was up for an award for his acting in "The Theory of Everything," and now there's this piece of crap hanging over his career. Sean Bean's character just sort of blipped in and out of the story at will, as did his pretty-much-nonexistant daughter. Very little was explained in the movie, despite the fact that we were supposed to be getting an introduction to this world through the eyes of the main character. There's something about reincarnation, and bees, and gene therapy, and wings, and immortality, and some kind of political/economic power struggle... and cyborgs... and an elephant man...?
What really sucks is that the story had promise. It could have been the next Star Wars. There were a lot of neat concepts and a boatload of originality. The main problem is that they tried to write three stories -- or repeat the same story three times -- and tell them all at once. The characters, the action, the locations, and everything else just flew by before you could really get familiar with anything or anyone, and by the end, I couldn't have cared less if the villain defeated the hero or not.
TL;DR: The Wachowski team did not deliver. I would have to be drunk with friends on a sofa streaming the movie online for free to ever be able to enjoy the movie, and that's a real pity. '~'
As for older movies I really love that few people have seen or heard of, Dark City and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow are two of my many favorites. Dark City was basically the predecessor of the Matrix movies in both concept and FX, and Sky Captain is a crazy dieselpunk film with sets done entirely in CG with a tiny budget and big name actors like Jude Law and Angelina Jolie. It isn't perfect, but it's got a lot of cool effects and creative ideas that make it worth a look.
Thank you for the info on why they said that about Chappie! That makes sense. I think the actual story is different but it definitely sounds like they had worked off/inspired by/etc of the movie you described.
Have you seen Automata? It's another kinda cool take on the whole robot AI thing. And by cool take I mean GENERALLY the same but I just really liked the way the robots looked at things. (sorry that's not a very good description, I don't wanna give it all away)
I have heard mixed reviews about Jupiter Ascending, though all of them generally say it was definitely BAD, but some people enjoyed it regardless. I haven't watched it yet, I might watch it if I see it's on TV but I don't think I'll be forking out any money for it unless I've definitely enjoyed it. I like corny messy SCI FI movies but I am a bit suspect about this particular one. If it doesn't let me focus on the story for long enough or have interesting characters I probably wont get into it. If I get interested in at least one character I am usually good to go. Thanks for the review!
I have watched both those movies and they are incredible. Awesome recommendations! I felt like Sky Captain didn't get enough excitement as it deserved but maybe I just missed the excitement over it. I hadn't realized at first it was almost entirely CG until after I watched it and at the time I thought it was the coolest thing for people to have made.
Posted: Wed May 13, 2015 8:14 pm
TowerHill
I have watched both those movies and they are incredible. Awesome recommendations! I felt like Sky Captain didn't get enough excitement as it deserved but maybe I just missed the excitement over it. I hadn't realized at first it was almost entirely CG until after I watched it and at the time I thought it was the coolest thing for people to have made.
Right? Another movie I love that doesn't have much of a following is Repo! The Genetic Opera. The Devil's Carnival is written by the same people and is also a wonderful piece of work, although Repo! is a bit more polished. Oddly enough, a lot of Repo! fans aren't even familiar with The Devil's Carnival or consider it a lesser production; I understand that opinion, but I honestly think both have their individual merits and weaknesses and should be given an equal chance. The main difference, I'd say, is that Repo! plays more like a movie while The Devil's Carnival plays more like a play, probably because, while Repo! started as a play, it went through an almost complete reworking for the movie while The Devil's Carnival didn't. The soundtrack for each of them alone is pure art, and the writers include a strong message in both stories.
I misspoke the name of the movies Chappie is often compared to. The proper title is Short Circuit and Short Circuit 2.
I have watched both those movies and they are incredible. Awesome recommendations! I felt like Sky Captain didn't get enough excitement as it deserved but maybe I just missed the excitement over it. I hadn't realized at first it was almost entirely CG until after I watched it and at the time I thought it was the coolest thing for people to have made.
Right? Another movie I love that doesn't have much of a following is Repo! The Genetic Opera. The Devil's Carnival is written by the same people and is also a wonderful piece of work, although Repo! is a bit more polished. Oddly enough, a lot of Repo! fans aren't even familiar with The Devil's Carnival or consider it a lesser production; I understand that opinion, but I honestly think both have their individual merits and weaknesses and should be given an equal chance. The main difference, I'd say, is that Repo! plays more like a movie while The Devil's Carnival plays more like a play, probably because, while Repo! started as a play, it went through an almost complete reworking for the movie while The Devil's Carnival didn't. The soundtrack for each of them alone is pure art, and the writers include a strong message in both stories.
I misspoke the name of the movies Chappie is often compared to. The proper title is Short Circuit and Short Circuit 2.
I remember reading about Repo! And there was loads of hype about it at one point. I was really excited to see it and theeen? I can't believe I still haven't seen it.
You like Marvel! I really love this short Truth in Journalism centered around Eddie Brock.
There was ONE other robot themed movie I wanted to show you but I can't find it ANYWHERE, it wasn't so much the story but the look of the robot that was interesting, I wish I had remembered the name. It was just a short film, it was a really convincing robot but was actually a guy in a really simple suit. Which sounds really lame the way I say it but it was very cool! NEVERMIND I FOUND IT! (I googled 'amazing realistic robot suit' haha)
Have you watched Pandorum? Not robots but SPACE! Or well kind of space, primarily the inside of a very cool spaceship. Maybe I'm just easily impressed but I thought the direction of the story was very cool and unpredictable.
Posted: Thu May 14, 2015 9:18 pm
I recently saw Age of Ultron on opening night. I had a lot of...mm....problems here and there with bits of it that I won't spoil. Things that got cut and didn't make much sense, things that got added and left me kinda like 'why'. To me it felt messy (and I'm not Joss Whedons biggest fan), but overall considering what it was I think it was a lot of fun all the same--but I honestly thought the first Avengers film was far more put together. I won't s**t all over it though. As someone who kind of depends on movies driving up new comicbook interest and sales...if AOU is what gets people into the dying industry of american comic books, I'll absolutely take it. In the mean time I'm eagerly awaiting Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
I recently saw Age of Ultron on opening night. I had a lot of...mm....problems here and there with bits of it that I won't spoil. Things that got cut and didn't make much sense, things that got added and left me kinda like 'why'. To me it felt messy (and I'm not Joss Whedons biggest fan), but overall considering what it was I think it was a lot of fun all the same--but I honestly thought the first Avengers film was far more put together. I won't s**t all over it though. As someone who kind of depends on movies driving up new comicbook interest and sales...if AOU is what gets people into the dying industry of american comic books, I'll absolutely take it. In the mean time I'm eagerly awaiting Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
I felt similarly about the film! Though I definitely enjoyed it a lot, there were bits here and there that made me just think; "Realllyyy???" But there were some things I thought I would really not like but ended up loving as well so it kind of evened it all out for me.
I don't knoooww, I think personally I might actually like it more then the first movie... Though nothing beats their initial 'getting together' moments in the first film. I haven't watched it in a while, I should do that.
Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 3:55 pm
TowerHill
sigishooter
I recently saw Age of Ultron on opening night. I had a lot of...mm....problems here and there with bits of it that I won't spoil. Things that got cut and didn't make much sense, things that got added and left me kinda like 'why'. To me it felt messy (and I'm not Joss Whedons biggest fan), but overall considering what it was I think it was a lot of fun all the same--but I honestly thought the first Avengers film was far more put together. I won't s**t all over it though. As someone who kind of depends on movies driving up new comicbook interest and sales...if AOU is what gets people into the dying industry of american comic books, I'll absolutely take it. In the mean time I'm eagerly awaiting Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
I felt similarly about the film! Though I definitely enjoyed it a lot, there were bits here and there that made me just think; "Realllyyy???" But there were some things I thought I would really not like but ended up loving as well so it kind of evened it all out for me.
I don't knoooww, I think personally I might actually like it more then the first movie... Though nothing beats their initial 'getting together' moments in the first film. I haven't watched it in a while, I should do that.
Yea, I feel ya!
And for general in this thread, is anyone here interested in seeing Mad Max other than me? Cause if you see it I'd love to hear your thoughts.
I recently saw Age of Ultron on opening night. I had a lot of...mm....problems here and there with bits of it that I won't spoil. Things that got cut and didn't make much sense, things that got added and left me kinda like 'why'. To me it felt messy (and I'm not Joss Whedons biggest fan), but overall considering what it was I think it was a lot of fun all the same--but I honestly thought the first Avengers film was far more put together. I won't s**t all over it though. As someone who kind of depends on movies driving up new comicbook interest and sales...if AOU is what gets people into the dying industry of american comic books, I'll absolutely take it. In the mean time I'm eagerly awaiting Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
I felt similarly about the film! Though I definitely enjoyed it a lot, there were bits here and there that made me just think; "Realllyyy???" But there were some things I thought I would really not like but ended up loving as well so it kind of evened it all out for me.
I don't knoooww, I think personally I might actually like it more then the first movie... Though nothing beats their initial 'getting together' moments in the first film. I haven't watched it in a while, I should do that.
Yea, I feel ya!
And for general in this thread, is anyone here interested in seeing Mad Max other than me? Cause if you see it I'd love to hear your thoughts.
I am watching it tomorrow! I will tell you what I think of it~!
Though at the moment I am excited to see it and have heard good things so far.
Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 6:27 pm
TowerHill
sigishooter
TowerHill
sigishooter
I recently saw Age of Ultron on opening night. I had a lot of...mm....problems here and there with bits of it that I won't spoil. Things that got cut and didn't make much sense, things that got added and left me kinda like 'why'. To me it felt messy (and I'm not Joss Whedons biggest fan), but overall considering what it was I think it was a lot of fun all the same--but I honestly thought the first Avengers film was far more put together. I won't s**t all over it though. As someone who kind of depends on movies driving up new comicbook interest and sales...if AOU is what gets people into the dying industry of american comic books, I'll absolutely take it. In the mean time I'm eagerly awaiting Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
I felt similarly about the film! Though I definitely enjoyed it a lot, there were bits here and there that made me just think; "Realllyyy???" But there were some things I thought I would really not like but ended up loving as well so it kind of evened it all out for me.
I don't knoooww, I think personally I might actually like it more then the first movie... Though nothing beats their initial 'getting together' moments in the first film. I haven't watched it in a while, I should do that.
Yea, I feel ya!
And for general in this thread, is anyone here interested in seeing Mad Max other than me? Cause if you see it I'd love to hear your thoughts.
I am watching it tomorrow! I will tell you what I think of it~!
Though at the moment I am excited to see it and have heard good things so far.
I have not seen any of the past Mad Max film(s). Should I watch those before watching the new movie?
Posted: Sat May 16, 2015 1:50 pm
Valenas
I haven't seen the previous movies either, and I found it was good on it's own. My parents have seen all the previous ones and were equally pleased, so you could do it either way I think! I'm probably gonna watch the older ones soon. The movie was very good.
edit// if you like Dredd you will love this.
TheGreaterWizard
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2015 2:22 pm
sigishooter
Hey! I watched it~!
And first off; I haven't watched any of the original movies so I can't compare that and I am not any kind of fancy movie critic so my view of the film is basically ALLLL my personal emotions and what have you, so sorry this is probably going to be a mess. I am not particular articulate either, so I apologize greatly.
I'm not gonna spoil the plot but I will put what I think under a spoiler anyway, just in case people want to be extra extra careful.
I loved it! I reaaallyy loved this movie.
It's explosions and violence from the get go and pretty much continues this way until the end. And though it gives off this feel of pointless violence it has managed to put enough feeling and character into it that it's still very enjoyable if you're not into meaningless violence. (I like pointless violence as long as there is at least ONE teeny weenie bit of story going on but this is better then that)
The characters are great though there is very little talking going on, it's all movement and it's EXTREME movement as most of everything takes place during car chases.
Though generally it feels like a random, crazy and funny film, there are a lot of very raw and heart melting moments. Which I loved.
There aren't any moments where you're asking "What will happen now?" because it just HAPPENS; questions are answered very quickly, there are no long moments of a character deciding what the right path will be.
It's very PRETTY as well, I really loved how each character looked and all the cars were amazingly ridiculous in their design.
It's also a very women-centric movie, and I wont say more about that but it's awesome! There are SOME moments where I worried it would take a turn for something stupid... But it picked up again and did good.
Really loved it, very fun and very funny and lots of awesome characters.
SOME WARNINGS; It is also REALLY gross and quite vulgar, some very uncomfortable things happen in this movie. All of these things are depicted in a very bad light and all are actions of the bad guys.
Justice does prevail in this movie and there's a HUGE amount of hope.
I'm sorry this is probably very messy, but I hope it helps at least a little? Maybe someone a little more movie savvy can watch it next and give a better description!
Posted: Sat May 16, 2015 5:45 pm
TowerHill
sigishooter
Hey! I watched it~!
And first off; I haven't watched any of the original movies so I can't compare that and I am not any kind of fancy movie critic so my view of the film is basically ALLLL my personal emotions and what have you, so sorry this is probably going to be a mess. I am not particular articulate either, so I apologize greatly.
I'm not gonna spoil the plot but I will put what I think under a spoiler anyway, just in case people want to be extra extra careful.
I loved it! I reaaallyy loved this movie.
It's explosions and violence from the get go and pretty much continues this way until the end. And though it gives off this feel of pointless violence it has managed to put enough feeling and character into it that it's still very enjoyable if you're not into meaningless violence. (I like pointless violence as long as there is at least ONE teeny weenie bit of story going on but this is better then that)
The characters are great though there is very little talking going on, it's all movement and it's EXTREME movement as most of everything takes place during car chases.
Though generally it feels like a random, crazy and funny film, there are a lot of very raw and heart melting moments. Which I loved.
There aren't any moments where you're asking "What will happen now?" because it just HAPPENS; questions are answered very quickly, there are no long moments of a character deciding what the right path will be.
It's very PRETTY as well, I really loved how each character looked and all the cars were amazingly ridiculous in their design.
It's also a very women-centric movie, and I wont say more about that but it's awesome! There are SOME moments where I worried it would take a turn for something stupid... But it picked up again and did good.
Really loved it, very fun and very funny and lots of awesome characters.
SOME WARNINGS; It is also REALLY gross and quite vulgar, some very uncomfortable things happen in this movie. All of these things are depicted in a very bad light and all are actions of the bad guys.
Justice does prevail in this movie and there's a HUGE amount of hope.
I'm sorry this is probably very messy, but I hope it helps at least a little? Maybe someone a little more movie savvy can watch it next and give a better description!
Ahh, very cool! Don't worry, what you said made plenty of sense to me and it honestly sounds pretty up my alley. I hope I get to see it soon and I'm glad you enjoyed it. Here's hoping in the future we can have more action movies that sound kinda like the direction this one has gone in haha
And first off; I haven't watched any of the original movies so I can't compare that and I am not any kind of fancy movie critic so my view of the film is basically ALLLL my personal emotions and what have you, so sorry this is probably going to be a mess. I am not particular articulate either, so I apologize greatly.
I'm not gonna spoil the plot but I will put what I think under a spoiler anyway, just in case people want to be extra extra careful.
I loved it! I reaaallyy loved this movie.
It's explosions and violence from the get go and pretty much continues this way until the end. And though it gives off this feel of pointless violence it has managed to put enough feeling and character into it that it's still very enjoyable if you're not into meaningless violence. (I like pointless violence as long as there is at least ONE teeny weenie bit of story going on but this is better then that)
The characters are great though there is very little talking going on, it's all movement and it's EXTREME movement as most of everything takes place during car chases.
Though generally it feels like a random, crazy and funny film, there are a lot of very raw and heart melting moments. Which I loved.
There aren't any moments where you're asking "What will happen now?" because it just HAPPENS; questions are answered very quickly, there are no long moments of a character deciding what the right path will be.
It's very PRETTY as well, I really loved how each character looked and all the cars were amazingly ridiculous in their design.
It's also a very women-centric movie, and I wont say more about that but it's awesome! There are SOME moments where I worried it would take a turn for something stupid... But it picked up again and did good.
Really loved it, very fun and very funny and lots of awesome characters.
SOME WARNINGS; It is also REALLY gross and quite vulgar, some very uncomfortable things happen in this movie. All of these things are depicted in a very bad light and all are actions of the bad guys.
Justice does prevail in this movie and there's a HUGE amount of hope.
I'm sorry this is probably very messy, but I hope it helps at least a little? Maybe someone a little more movie savvy can watch it next and give a better description!
Ahh, very cool! Don't worry, what you said made plenty of sense to me and it honestly sounds pretty up my alley. I hope I get to see it soon and I'm glad you enjoyed it. Here's hoping in the future we can have more action movies that sound kinda like the direction this one has gone in haha
Yeah, I think one of the problems some people have with the idea of making action movies more appropriate and less woman attack-y is that it would make the whole film feel weak and pander-y. But this movie proves that that isn't true at all, that there can be balance and we can have the best of both worlds. Mindless action doesn't have to include the dehumanization of a group of people.
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