Re: Good (or bad) Movies PART 2

[LennG]

Last night we sat down to watch 'The Lost City of Z", starring another group of people I have never heard of, but that really shouldn't matter if a movie is good. To me, this one wasn't.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1212428/

This is the true story (aren't they all lately) of a British explorer who is sent to South America to sort of map out a boundary between two countries about to go to war over it. On his journey in the Amazon, he discovers what could be the remains of a lost civilization. On his return to England and after presenting his findings, he is ridiculed and he has to return to try and prove it. This repeated journey is at the expense of his family as these treks take several years. In the end, he returns with his son to try and prove the existence of this civilization which he calls 'Z'.

My take, this movie was almost 2 1/2 hours and it felt as if it were 4 hours long. Second, to me, even the description of the movie doesn't make it sound that appealing, as I thought it would be something like Indiana Jones, with lots of action etc. There was basically no action at all, just talk, talk and more talk. AND, for a movie about this man's journeys thru the jungles of the Amazon, there was more footage of him in England and other places then there was of him in the jungle. Overall, I'm sure this man led a very courageous and interesting life, but to make a 2 1/2 hour movie about it, when a 30 minute documentary would have sufficed. My DW left after the first 45 minutes, but I stuck it out thinking it HAS to get better, but it didn't.

If you are interested in things like this, true stories about this explorer, you might enjoy the movie. Really, I don't know how I stayed awake for the entire thing?

[jimv]

Lenny, I had an experience like that myself.  I sat watching what I consider the worst picture I've ever seen, "Quest for Fire," saying to myself, "This has got to better."  Well, it never did.

[LennG]

Lenny, I had an experience like that myself.  I sat watching what I consider the worst picture I've ever seen, "Quest for Fire," saying to myself, "This has got to better."  Well, it never did.

Had that same experience with that movie also.   

[LennG]

I am a sucker for a good sci-fi movie and add a bit of 'horror' to that, well, I love it, unless, of course, it is made just for the sake of making a movie about nonsense. Take the 'Alien' movie group. 'Alien'  was great, 'Aliens' (the second one) was truly great, and then it started sliding downhill. 'Aliens 3' was only watchable, 'Alien Resurrection' was terrible and it ended. But not for long, as director Ridley Scott resurrected the series with 'Prometheus' (not bad) and the latest 'Alien: Coventent' which is what all this is leading to, the movie I watched yesterday.

So the next in a long line of sci-fi horror and I'm surprised it took me this long to watch it. Maybe I was soured on some of the previous movies into this class, but I sat down with great anticipation as this movie got pretty good ratings.  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2316204/

Plot wise, space ship is out to colonize a new planet with 2000 colonists and a crew on board in hibernation. Just an android is taking care of business. Like other movies, something happens that wakens the crew and the rest is sort of Hollywood sci-fi. The Alien movies are not about just sci fi, there has to be a real ugly alien creature who just destroys the crew in all sorts of ways and this one was no exception. I saw many similarities to past 'Alien' movies and to several other sci-fi movies, but overall, it wasn't silly, wasn't stupid and did offer a few chills. As a fan, I liked it but it wasn't anywhere near the first two movies in this regiment, so if you are not a fan of these sort of movies, you probably won't like it, but it is worth a look see. If you are a fan, you WILL like it, which, as I said, I did.

There are killings, but not a lot of gore, things don't 'pop out' as a scare tactic very much. The alien creature is very similar to the original alien but they had to make some differences and they are as menacing as ever. 'Aliens' was still the best of the bunch and it would be very hard to top that one, this doesn't come close.

The movie is definitely not for children but young teens could watch it, if they don't scare easily.

[jimv]

Thanks for the write-up, Lenny.  I stopped with the series after "Aliens."  As far as I was concerned, I liked the ending of that one & felt it would be all downhill after that.  Sigourney Weaver was GREAT as Ripley!

[squibber]

I saw three movies lately.

The Magnificent Seven (Denzel Washington) - If you like westerns with high body counts, this is up your alley.  A group of farmers pool their money to hire seven gunfighters to take out a cruel land baron and his men.  It dragged in parts but I would give it a 7 out of 10.

Train to Busan (Netflix) - If you are going through zombie withdrawal, you might enjoy this movie.  It is a Korean movie subtitled in English.  It was still watchable though.  Although not great, it held my interest.  These zombies were not like the slow moving zombies in The Walking Dead.  They were a little too twitchy for me.  Their heads jerking around reminded me of chickens.

Alien Covenant - It was an OK movie, definitely not one of the better Alien movies.  It took too long for the aliens to appear in the story.  One interesting aspect of the story was the two identical looking cyborgs.  You can see a bit of the Adam & Eve story here.  Walter, the good cyborg, is like an Adam before he ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Walter is a good, loyal and smart servant who does what he is told.   David, the bad cyborg, was the post eat from the tree Adam, having free will and knowing good and evil but chose evil.

[jimv]

Thanks for info, squib!  But, you just gave me good reason to never watch any of them.  The Original "Mag Seven"  is a GREAT classic.  There was absolutely no reason for anyone to re-make it.

[LennG]

My son told us we have to watch this movie, that we would positively enjoy. So last night we watched, a comedy starring a great cast of Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin as 3 'older' gentlemen, who are sort of low on funds so they decide to rob a bank. My quick opinion, it was great.
Now, not to say it was a great movie, it won't win many Academy Awards, but for an 'older' coup[le like we are, this movie was perfect. Not that we could associate with the 3 men, but it was just a pleasant watch, and easy movie with no sex, no explosions, not blood and guts, just an enjoyable watch of 3 veteran actors, all stars in their own right, having some fun at life's expense.
Quickly, Michael Caine is in this bank when it is actually robbed. The bank is trying to take his home away from him for lack of payments, so he talks his buddies into a daring plan to rob this bank, get enough money to pay off all their bills and leave the rest. Christopher Lloyd is hilarious as Milton. As you would expect, things don't go exactly as planned, but ............... well I won't spoil the fun as you see what happens next.

Now, I'm not saying this movie is just for us 'old timers', it isn't. As I said, my son saw it and loved it also. I'm sure it didn't do well at the box office with the teen crowd, but if you want to just sit back and enjoy an enjoyable movie that will make you laugh, give it a watch.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2568862/

[LennG]

Wasn't feeling well today so I kind of stayed in and caught up on some of my TV  and movie time. I did get to watch one movie that I was anticipating, the new Steven King movie "IT". (The remake, as I refer to it). There are NO stars of note in this movie, at least to my knowledge.
For those that want a preview----  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1396484/

Let me start out by saying I LOVE Steven King novels. I haven't read all of them but they are on my bucket list. I have never read IT but I did see the previous mini series when it was on TV and it was OK.  Usually King's novels do not play well in the movies and rarely do they get good reviews, but this one did. Maybe it is the hunger for this type of movie, part horror, part suspense even part comedy, but over all I liked it. I was prepared to get scared out of my wits, but it wasn't like that at all. There were a couple of parts that were scary, and a few suspenseful moments, but overall, it was pretty mild--for a Steven King movie.

Quickly, as usual, Maine is the setting and the particular town has had problems with missing people, mostly children every 27 years. The movie gives us a good scare almost from the get go as Pennywise (IT) tries to lure a little boy into his realm. As the movie moves on, it really follows a group of young teens who are all sort of nerdy, but all good friend. They are joined along the way by a young girl and then a Black kid, as they all try and battle their own demons and then Pennywise. All comes to a big conclusion where you will have to see as I won't even go there.

As I said, I liked the movie, just not as scary as I was led to believe. It is definitely not for children, kids even young teens as there is a lot of cursing, some killings, some blood and lots of suspense and scary images.
If Steven King is your cup of tea, then SEE THIS MOVIE, it is better than most of Kings other movies. I would recommend it.

[jimv]

Stephen King is, of course, very popular up here.  I've read most of his early books.  I really enjoyed them.  One, in particular, was a favorite of mine.  I forget the name (& will probably remember it when I sign of).  It was about vampires & it mentioned many local places, even one here in Gorham.  The movies made from the books are not usually as good as the books they come from.  One, in my opinion, that was a gfairly good translation was "Needful Things."
a little story about King.  I know the lady who taught him English in high School.  During one class she each student why would someone want to be a writer.  His answer was, "To make money."  I guess he did that.

[Jim143]

Jim

The book you are thinking of is Salem's Lot.  That is the first Stephen King Book that I have read (I have read all of them up to the Dark Tower Series).

Thanks Lenn - I wanted to see it, but have been let down with most of the Book-to-Movie translations of King Books.

[terrymeisner]

"It" was filmed about 10 miles from me in Port Hope and I was able to get to town on multiple occasions to watch them film and one day I was able to get inside the ropes and was standing about 10 feet from the director while they shot a scene. It was very cool seeing them transform this sleepy little Canadian town into Derry, Maine.

I was walking in Port Hope one day during filming and I ran into an American couple who weren't aware of the movie being filmed and they asked me why we flew so many American flags in town. We got quite a chuckle when I told them why.

They are already planning the second installment when the kids get back together 27 years later to fight Pennywise once again. There is talk they will be filming back in Port Hope next summer.

I didn't really care for the original tv movie but this is a big budget film and imo is very well done.

[jimv]

Jim

The book you are thinking of is Salem's Lot.  That is the first Stephen King Book that I have read (I have read all of them up to the Dark Tower Series).

Thanks Lenn - I wanted to see it, but have been let down with most of the Book-to-Movie translations of King Books.

THANKS, Jim!!  At the end of the book, they were going back to kill the vampires.  At the end of the movie, they were running away.

[LennG]

"It" was filmed about 10 miles from me in Port Hope and I was able to get to town on multiple occasions to watch them film and one day I was able to get inside the ropes and was standing about 10 feet from the director while they shot a scene. It was very cool seeing them transform this sleepy little Canadian town into Derry, Maine.

I was walking in Port Hope one day during filming and I ran into an American couple who weren't aware of the movie being filmed and they asked me why we flew so many American flags in town. We got quite a chuckle when I told them why.

They are already planning the second installment when the kids get back together 27 years later to fight Pennywise once again. There is talk they will be filming back in Port Hope next summer.

I didn't really care for the original tv movie but this is a big budget film and imo is very well done.

Good job terry.

I did forget to mention in my review, that at the very end, it did say Chapter One.

[terrymeisner]

the old haunted house in "it" was pretty cool....they built it in Oshawa on an empty lot but it was only the front of the house held up by supports

they used brand new siding and burnt it to make it look aged....imo they did a great job on it

https://addictedtohorrormovies.com/2016/08/22/want-to-see-the-house-on-neibolt-street-from-the-remake-of-stephen-kings-it/