Blade Runner 2049...

Holy. Shit.

Blade Runner 2049 was a great film. Such a beautiful movie and a really great sequel.

While it was a commercial failure, sounds like Scott got Amazon to pick up Blade Runner 2099.

Villeneuve still wants another movie that moves on from the Deckard story.

Dec 29, 2022 0:25:29 GMT @admin said:

I liked Glass Onion a lot more than the original Knives Out. Janelle Monae was fierce AF and the Elon Musk commentary was amusing. Daniel Craig making a southern gay detective his most iconic role over James Bond is pretty awesome.

Agreed. I never thought he'd be my favorite Bond, but his Blanc is even a step above that.

I liked Knives Out, but I loved Glass Onion. The cast was stellar and everyone played their parts perfectly. There were so many layers to it, the Onion analogy makes complete sense. I found it extremely interesting. 

Glass Onion

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}
On the whole, a solid enough follow-up to Knives Out with a fun cast but they didn't do enough with the narrative frame-work.

I like the idea of peeling away the first act and repeating it from the second from a different perspective. However the movie didn't really set anything up. It was all one big anti-climax that ends in the shock death of Batista.

There were really any interesting leads or red herring to get hooked on. Like the first you have a pretty big suspicion and when the film confirms who it is, they try and cheat by admitting how stupid the whole thing is.

A couple of fun moments but I don't think it transitioned as smoothly as Knives Out.

From what I understand, Knives Out took around a decade for Johnson to figure out the kinks. Whereas Glass Onion didn't have anywhere near that amount of thought put in and it shows. The main beats are there but how they get there doesn't feel as satisfying.

Glass Onion was not meant to be a mystery film really. Blanc makes this clear when he trashes Clue. Ultimately this was a con film. So more Brother's Bloom and less Brick so to speak.

"A Knives Out Mystery".

Was that the con? The film 'owning' it's weaknesses doesn't deflect from them. If anything it just highlights them, especially when they're not replaced by something more interesting.

The film was released to near universal acclaim so it did work. The grand mystery was not the point, but layers of simple ones that were easily solved. Almost could say fragile mysteries that are obvious when you look at them, that combine to form a glass onion.

The critics enjoyed it in spite of the weaknesses and even so their enjoyment doesn't invalidate that criticism. There are aspects of the movie that are enjoyable but the mystery and pay off fail to be compelling and clever.

Fresh:

Mediocre film about Cannibalism that the two leads weren’t able to carry which is a shame as I’m a fan of both.

Bones and All:

I think this was really mismarketed, It is based on a book but at first glance you’d think this is a YA adaption and it definitely isn’t. Trailer then makes it seem like (another) Let the Right One In remake.

It’s neither, really interesting and grounded take on the loneliness and hardships people who would have to eat other humans may face.

Triangle of Sadness:

title is awesome but This was ok, kind of tried to go for the same commentary at times that Barbarian was going for but with classism as well. The three acts almost felt like a different film each time. As far as the cruise ship goes

Maybe I should actually write Deluge 😒


The banshees of Inisherin

I really should have looked up the plot for this before I watched it but a film about two mates from the bar wasn’t the escapism I was looking for after work :lol:

Maybe it’s just Irish sense of humour but this was one of the most depressing films I’ve ever seen and it’s meant to be a dark comedy?
The Menu is a dark comedy and I loved it, I laughed once at this and I’m not sure it was even an attempt at humour.

It does get absurd but nothing you wouldn’t accept as normal in a horror film.

Was a really interesting reflection on leading a boring cyclical live and I really felt for Colin Farrell’s character.

The trailer for Bones and All put me off, like you say it came across as a Young Adult/Let The Right One In knock-off, no interest. But without seeing the trailer I wouldn't have heard of it at all.

The Banshees of Inisherin goes for that same style of self-deprecating British humour as In Bruges, but it's more subtle about it. Not many laugh out loud moments, more the odd snicker here and there. It is a kinda depressing story but there's enough excitement and humour in there to keep it above the surface. Even to me it's not clear which parts were meant to be funny and which not.

Dec 30, 2022 18:33:18 GMT c said:

Glass Onion was not meant to be a mystery film really. Blanc makes this clear when he trashes Clue. Ultimately this was a con film. So more Brother's Bloom and less Brick so to speak.

I got much more Clue vibes from Glass Onion then I did Knives Out. 

Just watched Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk. Holy crap this was good. Best doc on punk period. Covers the West Coast early punk, hardcore, vagcore/riot girl, ska scenes and protogrunge scenes. Has a focus on the Maximum Rock and Roll scene with appearances from countless bands and scene people. Super cool footage of high school era Sweet Children, which would later go on to become Green Day. Film covers the different eras, areas, clubs, groups, people and bands that made up West Coast punk. Nearly three hours long, and they really went for it trying to cover as much as possible about the Bay era.

One wild part is the story of Operation Ivy's breakup. The band started playing in basements, and suddenly were pulling so many people that they were turned away from playing parties and clubs as there would simply be too many people. They did not tell Green Day, who was opening for them and playing for the first time as Green Day, that they were breaking up so when Green Day went to what they thought was a record release party, they found out it was Op Ivy's final show.

Real cool doc if into Punk at all.

Smile...it was It Follows.

Top Gun: Maverick, much like Cobra Kai, the perfect distillation of what made the original work, the second "Danger Zone" kicks in, it hits pretty much every note perfectly. Only downer is that not all women age as gracefully as Jennifer Connley, the love story part would have been more effective if it was Kelly McGillis, but she aged like a normal person and looks like an average grandma, not quite cinematic. Ton of fun though, kind of wish I'd seen it in the theater. Does suck that Val's key plot point is taken straight from life though, he was always such a smooth talker, powerful stuff for the movie though, really a perfect way to wrap his career. Since Real Genius 2 is probably off the table. Still, great flick.

Glass Onion!

Jan 3, 2023 0:46:52 GMT @admin said:

I liked Glass Onion a lot more than the original Knives Out. Janelle Monae was fierce AF and the Elon Musk commentary was amusing. Daniel Craig making a southern gay detective his most iconic role over James Bond is pretty awesome.

Jan 2, 2023 22:10:51 GMT iron maiden said:

Agreed. I never thought he'd be my favorite Bond, but his Blanc is even a step above that.

I liked Knives Out, but I loved Glass Onion. The cast was stellar and everyone played their parts perfectly. There were so many layers to it, the Onion analogy makes complete sense. I found it extremely interesting. 

Yep and yep. Daniel Craig's Bond is such a soulless character, even after seeing Knives Out it surprises me to see him display such awesome charisma. And that accent is gorgeous.

Jan 3, 2023 0:05:18 GMT RagnarokMike said:

SPOILER: Click to hide

Movie got me good, when Blanc points out that's the switching of glasses was not what they saw, but what he told them. I KNEW I saw him hand him that glass, but second guessed myself just because it showed me Bron's version of the event. I actually fell for his bullshit.

A fantastic example of the fallibility of witness recollections and the malleability of memory. Personally, when I was watching the film I wasn't even consciously aware of what happened with the glasses until the flashbacks.

Jan 2, 2023 19:41:52 GMT Big Pete said:

The critics enjoyed it in spite of the weaknesses and even so their enjoyment doesn't invalidate that criticism. There are aspects of the movie that are enjoyable but the mystery and pay off fail to be compelling and clever.

Personally I thought the mystery and payoff were both compelling and clever.

I must ask: how big was Knives Out prior to Glass Onion coming out? My view is that Knives Out was a pretty niche film that flew under the radar. Accurate?

Jan 3, 2023 9:44:31 GMT Emperor said:

I must ask: how big was Knives Out prior to Glass Onion coming out? My view is that Knives Out was a pretty niche film that flew under the radar. Accurate?

It was a critical darling and box office success drawing 312 million worldwide off a 40 million budget. It was a return to form for Johnson after his contentious Star Wars sequel and even the most ardent Star Wars fan admitted he could make a fun movie.

I guess relatively speaking it was 29th biggest movie in the world (15th in the US) and it did come out during the holiday season. So not necessarily living under a rock, but it was just behind Us as the second biggest new IP release and was pretty big around cinema circles.

Glad you enjoyed it, but I'm struggling to see what you found creative about it when the movie admits it's mind-boggling simple.

Jan 3, 2023 12:01:12 GMT Big Pete said:

Glad you enjoyed it, but I'm struggling to see what you found creative about it when the movie admits it's mind-boggling simple.

Mind-bogglingly simple, huh? Did you know who the murderer was from the beginning?

It's exactly like Benoit Blanc said. The answer was "obvious", staring him in the face the whole time, but he didn't see it. Why? Just like the audience, he is conditioned to expect something complex, sophisticated, unexpected and that blinded him from the truth. A nice subversion of the detective story trope, executed marvellously.

Besides that the narrative structure was clever, the ruse with the twins, faking her death with spicy sauce, the shock with Batista being the first to die. A real thrillride.

Jan 3, 2023 13:26:30 GMT Emperor said:

Jan 3, 2023 12:01:12 GMT Big Pete said:

Glad you enjoyed it, but I'm struggling to see what you found creative about it when the movie admits it's mind-boggling simple.

Mind-bogglingly simple, huh? Did you know who the murderer was from the beginning?

It's exactly like Benoit Blanc said. The answer was "obvious", staring him in the face the whole time, but he didn't see it. Why? Just like the audience, he is conditioned to expect something complex, sophisticated, unexpected and that blinded him from the truth. A nice subversion of the detective story trope, executed marvellously.

Besides that the narrative structure was clever, the ruse with the twins, faking her death with spicy sauce, the shock with Batista being the first to die. A real thrillride.

Yes, especially since the movie didn't plant any interesting red-herrings so the character you're positioned against from the outset happens to be the culprit. The first movie characterised their main antagonist the same way, so it came across as a retread.

I think it's an easy watch and a crowd pleaser but clever? Does recycling classic genre tropes in a modern setting constitute as clever?

As you can tell, I'm a joy to watch movies with. :lol:

Jan 3, 2023 13:47:05 GMT Big Pete said:

Jan 3, 2023 13:26:30 GMT Emperor said:

Mind-bogglingly simple, huh? Did you know who the murderer was from the beginning?

It's exactly like Benoit Blanc said. The answer was "obvious", staring him in the face the whole time, but he didn't see it. Why? Just like the audience, he is conditioned to expect something complex, sophisticated, unexpected and that blinded him from the truth. A nice subversion of the detective story trope, executed marvellously.

Besides that the narrative structure was clever, the ruse with the twins, faking her death with spicy sauce, the shock with Batista being the first to die. A real thrillride.

Yes, especially since the movie didn't plant any interesting red-herrings so the character you're positioned against from the outset happens to be the culprit.

No red herrings? Apart from every other character? They made it pretty clear that everyone is a suspect, first for rich guy's murder, then for his ex-partner's murder.

Jan 3, 2023 13:47:05 GMT Big Pete said:

I think it's an easy watch and a crowd pleaser but clever? Does recycling classic genre tropes in a modern setting constitute as clever?

As you can tell, I'm a joy to watch movies with. :lol:

Depends how it's done, but yes, I thought it was clever. Is the only way to be clever to do something completely novel? That's extremely rare.

I might not agree but I respect your position and it's always interesting to discuss different perspectives.

First 2023 film I’ve seen 🥳

A Man Called Otto:

The trailers make this seem like a much lighter film than it is considering it deals with death and suicide attempts a lot. I’m not complaining but can see parents taking their kids to see a feel good Hanks movie.

Was really enjoying this up until a certain moment that just seemed super insincere and I can guarantee wasn’t in the book or original film (A Man Called Ove) and was just shoehorned in for todays agenda. It’s only reference once again and never goes anywhere either. Tom Hanks was good but Truman Hanks not so much.

Really over films having a character speak a different language without subtitles (or when you watch it on streaming it says “speaking ___”)

Much like The Intern I hate when films make every male character a moron just to boost the main character. It makes more sense in the context of this film but to be fair but still an issue.

SPOILER: Click to show

does for the wife he never apologised to her husband who’s only flaw is seemingly he can’t drive well

Enjoyed the very small Lucha libre references too.

Overall I thought it was pretty good but I would have said it was great if it wasn’t for aforementioned issues.

Jan 3, 2023 14:57:35 GMT Emperor said:

No red herrings? Apart from every other character? They made it pretty clear that everyone is a suspect, first for rich guy's murder, then for his ex-partner's murder.

Despite being presented as an ensemble, the movie only fleshed out two characters and only one of them could have been the suspect. Sure, the movie puts you on the hook that maybe the other characters could be involved but they never really expand on it and it's never long before the movie's attention returns to the prime suspect.

Jan 3, 2023 14:57:35 GMT Emperor said:

Depends how it's done, but yes, I thought it was clever. Is the only way to be clever to do something completely novel? That's extremely rare.

Not necessarily completely novel, but do something interesting with the tropes. My main issue is that the movie's big plot twist is that the characters are actually really simple people which is something the movie had already beaten our heads with during the slow anti-climatic first act.

Honestly, that faux mystery would have been better than the actual mystery.

That's why a show like Better Call Saul, Game of Thrones, The Wire, Death Note etc. were so compelling. At their highest points, we were watching well written characters go head to head and when a conflict resolved itself it felt climatic and earned. Here it felt clunky and anti-climatic, so much so, our lead detective says as much and constantly references how much he struggles with simple mystery games us regular civilians play.

I've blathered on enough though and I don't want to spoil anymore of the movie or dump on something that others enjoyed. I did enjoy parts of it as well but I wonder where the disconnect is coming from. It seems to be a very polarising movie judging from reddit.

Glass Onion

Alright, but I liked the first one a lot more.

It was too long, there was too much time spent on stuff that was pretty pointless and it just wasn't as interesting overall.

I'd definitely rewatch Knives Out, but I don't think I'll ever sit through Glass Onion again.

I think Blanc is a similar kind of character to Jack Sparrow. He worked great in Knives Out as someone who comes and goes and add a lot of personality to scenes, but as the main focus here he really lost a lot of appeal to me.

Jan 3, 2023 15:49:29 GMT Big Pete said:

Jan 3, 2023 14:57:35 GMT Emperor said:

No red herrings? Apart from every other character? They made it pretty clear that everyone is a suspect, first for rich guy's murder, then for his ex-partner's murder.

Despite being presented as an ensemble, the movie only fleshed out two characters and only one of them could have been the suspect. Sure, the movie puts you on the hook that maybe the other characters could be involved but they never really expand on it and it's never long before the movie's attention returns to the prime suspect.

That's a fair comment. More expansion on the other characters could have made the film more compelling, although I was plenty compelled as it is.

Jan 3, 2023 20:54:08 GMT @aaron said:

I'd definitely rewatch Knives Out, but I don't think I'll ever sit through Glass Onion again.

I feel much the opposite! I like both films, but Glass Onion is far more enjoyable.

Jan 3, 2023 20:54:08 GMT @aaron said:

I think Blanc is a similar kind of character to Jack Sparrow. He worked great in Knives Out as someone who comes and goes and add a lot of personality to scenes, but as the main focus here he really lost a lot of appeal to me.

Again, I feel the opposite. Blanc simply wasn't present enough in Knives Out, I wanted more of him. I got more of him in Glass Onion, and it was glorious.

Jan 3, 2023 20:56:22 GMT Emperor said:

Again, I feel the opposite. Blanc simply wasn't present enough in Knives Out, I wanted more of him. I got more of him in Glass Onion, and it was glorious.

Maybe the next one will have a medium amount of Benoit Blanc - that way both of us (or maybe neither of us) will be left satisfied!

I'm with Emperor. I re-watched both last night and I while I highly enjoyed both, I just thought Glass Onion was a bit more fun (like Clue)and gave us more Blanc. I loved the fact that they were all idiots especially Bron who is heralded as being this genius. It reminded me of the meme: 'I use big words to make myself sound more photosynthesis.'

It might be simple, but not every plot has to be Murder on the Orient Express.

Scaling back the mystery stuff, allowed them to just make a fun film. Some did not like it, but seems most people are really enjoying it.

Jan 4, 2023 10:57:20 GMT @aaron said:

I think Blanc is a similar kind of character to Jack Sparrow. He worked great in Knives Out as someone who comes and goes and add a lot of personality to scenes, but as the main focus here he really lost a lot of appeal to me.

It was like they treated Knives Out as a focus test and their main take-away is that fans really enjoyed LeBlanc. So they cobbled up a story, wrote a bunch of one-note characters to form an ensemble and caked it as much LeBlanc as possible before calling it a day. I was the same way and the film even acknowledged it by LeBlanc owning up to 'dialing up the southern charm to distract the guests'. In the end, I kind of wish he did take his iPad and got off the island.

Jan 2, 2023 6:36:40 GMT RagnarokMike said:

Smile...it was It Follows.

It Follows was so considerably better than Smile and this comparison made me sad enough just to quote it. I get why they’re similar, but everything about It Follows, starting from sex being how it’s spread is on a higher plane of creativity than Smile which was literally a run of the mill ghost/possession movie with a good marketing hook.

Anyway, just finished Glass Onion which delivered exactly what I expected. I suppose if I were in it for the mystery I would have been disappointed. But I didn’t find the mystery to be among the things I enjoyed about Knives Out and so I didn’t go in worried about that. I wanted to spend an entertaining time with fun characters and a story well told and Glass Onion was that. I’ll have to think about it, but it might be my new favorite of 2022.

Really shows how much the movie watching landscape has changed

No one was talking about Glass Onion when it came out in theatres, as soon as it hit Netflix everyone and their mother had watched it and was talking about it. Maybe because it was around the holidays when a lot of people were home but still interesting.

I didn’t even know it had been on at the cinema until I saw it mentioned earlier in this thread - I thought it just launched on Netflix!

Glass Onion only opened in 600 theaters for five days without promotion.