Film 22

[johnofgwent]

Managed to watch Randy Andy the musical which was quite funny, it's on SKY.

I started watching and after about ten minutes decided it wasn't for me. My grand daughter has already choreographed better than that. 

[johnofgwent]

Saw it last night, not as good as the 13 year hype would suggest.

Yeah. It's a decent enough plot and the FX are of course what it's about but maybe after forty years of industrial light and magic ... 

Like I said somewhere on here, I used my free / discount VUE tickets to go see Top Gun : Maverick a few months back and was actually impressed to see it had a sort of plot, in the way I found the original did not. I fear Cameron is going to have to do better to beat what he's already achieved.

[Nick]

Managed to watch Randy Andy the musical which was quite funny, it's on SKY.

[Nick]

Ok. No plot spoilers, I promise.

Run time I saw advertised as 191 minutes is thankfully a lie, we chose to see it last night at a retro cinema in Blackwood. Advertised as a 19:00 start the curtains opened on the BBFC certificate at 19:28 after the usual pointless ads and trailers and the film's last one and a half seconds - which are pretty much exactly the same as Avatar - roll 179 minutes later.

The effects are amazing of course. You'll believe men can plunge to their deaths from rocks that float in the sky.

I very quickly gave in to the fantasy and allowed myself to believe all the animals etc were real. It helps. And perhaps having done so the strangest moment was realising g the evolutionary convergence that gives the equivalent of the blue whale the mouth opening mechanism of an Arrakis Sandworm and the tattoos of Dwayne The Rock Johnson.

One of my oldest drinking pals has a one question covers all approach to any film and that is to ask 'were you entertained' and yes, I was. I was also surprised to see a lot less of the Greta Thunberg Cult's dead hand visible on screen than I expected.

I think it's fair to say there's a pretty decent TWO hour film inside this three hour offering. Look out for the straight to DVD directors get-to-the-point-cut.

He's got an AVATAR 3 coming hasn't he ?  Maybe not on those seating figures though. Last performance on a Thursday in between Christmas and New Year that was packed solid for the last two Star Wars releases and barely a quarter of the seats were taken.

Saw it last night, not as good as the 13 year hype would suggest. 

[johnofgwent]

I may owe Tim Burton a small apology. 

Yesterday I watched a YouTube "sort of the making of" trailer for that Netflix series Wednesday. It briefly showed some sequences of cartoons supposedly penned by the creator of The Addams Family. I'd never seen these before. Having seen them I withdraw one criticism and apply a different one.

As I have said of Adam West's Batman, his caped crusader in the 60's Batman film is an utter parody of the 1930s comic book superhero who far more resembles The Dark Knight of DC Comics 'Justice League' who operate in the world waking up to the death of Superman. The man in purple spandex who somedays can't get rid of a bomb is the superhero my atomic Cold War age duck and cover suckers needed, not the comic original.

Well, the 1960s black and white TV actor (John Astin ?) and the film portrayal by Raul Julia have Gomez (who that trailer suggested was unnamed in the original cartoons) as a bloke so happily married to his - let's not muck about drop dead gorgeous - wife no dad watching can possibly not think you lucky, lucky utterly besotted bastard, but my kids both point out these days from her angle the guy seems worth hanging on to ...

Yet in the cartoons I mention seeing shots of Gomez is one fat ugly bastard.

Maybe Burton went for realism in adherence to the original ??

[johnofgwent]

AVATAR II out on 16th Dec, 13 years in the making.

Ok. No plot spoilers, I promise. 

Run time I saw advertised as 191 minutes is thankfully a lie, we chose to see it last night at a retro cinema in Blackwood. Advertised as a 19:00 start the curtains opened on the BBFC certificate at 19:28 after the usual pointless ads and trailers and the film's last one and a half seconds - which are pretty much exactly the same as Avatar - roll 179 minutes later. 

The effects are amazing of course. You'll believe men can plunge to their deaths from rocks that float in the sky.

I very quickly gave in to the fantasy and allowed myself to believe all the animals etc were real. It helps. And perhaps having done so the strangest moment was realising g the evolutionary convergence that gives the equivalent of the blue whale the mouth opening mechanism of an Arrakis Sandworm and the tattoos of Dwayne The Rock Johnson.

One of my oldest drinking pals has a one question covers all approach to any film and that is to ask 'were you entertained' and yes, I was. I was also surprised to see a lot less of the Greta Thunberg Cult's dead hand visible on screen than I expected.

I think it's fair to say there's a pretty decent TWO hour film inside this three hour offering. Look out for the straight to DVD directors get-to-the-point-cut.

He's got an AVATAR 3 coming hasn't he ?  Maybe not on those seating figures though. Last performance on a Thursday in between Christmas and New Year that was packed solid for the last two Star Wars releases and barely a quarter of the seats were taken.

[papasmurf]

AVATAR II out on 16th Dec, 13 years in the making.

That is nearly as long as Quo Vadis.

[Nick]

AVATAR II out on 16th Dec, 13 years in the making. 

[johnofgwent]

Not a film but currently a Netflix series of 8 rather binge watch worthy episodes IMO

Tim Burton takes The Addams Family to the next Generation with a focus on Wednesday.

Catherine Zeta Jones utterly fails to do a decent Morticia and the guy playing Gomez is one fat ugly git. Which makes the scenes where those two are all over each other ,as Wednesday Addams herself says, nauseating, and not in a good way.

But fortunately neither are mainstream appearances in this set.

I'll pop back here later to pick up other ideas. Anyone with pointers for cinema releases  please do speak up. It's a bit of a tradition for us between Christmas and new year but after three years out of it with the covid lockdown ....

[Nick]

Ok, I have just started the download.

I have also heard good things about Violent Night, although all I can find are webcam copies which are pretty dire. Still, it is Christmas and a time for cheerful rubbish

I think you'll enjoy it Borky. 

[Borchester]

As it's coming up to Christmas and it's the time to Drink and Be Merry More Drinky I thought a film review section might cheer the place up a tad.

I'll Start.....



Knives Out, really clever and funny film with basically everyone in it.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8946378/

Ok, I have just started the download.

I have also heard good things about Violent Night, although all I can find are webcam copies which are pretty dire. Still, it is Christmas and a time for cheerful rubbish

[T00ts]

As it's coming up to Christmas and it's the time to Drink and Be Merry More Drinky I thought a film review section might cheer the place up a tad.

I'll Start.....



Knives Out, really clever and funny film with basically everyone in it.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8946378/

Good plan - something needs to inject a bit of joy.

[Nick]

As it's coming up to Christmas and it's the time to Drink and Be Merry More Drinky I thought a film review section might cheer the place up a tad.

I'll Start.....



Knives Out, really clever and funny film with basically everyone in it.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8946378/