Film Reviews - what have you seen lately, what did you think?

[Captain Sasquatch]

Wow. Google to find some real articles about this Glass guy in Revenant. Talk about a bad ass.

Yep. Insane what he lived through.

 

[Captain Sasquatch]

So he lived? Guess I can skip that one.

Well it wouldn't have been a remarkable enough story to make a film about it 180 years after the fact if he had died, would it? Besides, it's still a fantastic film, probably the best of the year. And the ending in the movie is decidedly different than what happened in real life.

 

[AlexDaGator]

When I first read the Hugh Glass story I thought it would make a great film, but it would take an amazing writer/director to pull it off. So much of the story is just him struggling for survival. Nobody to talk to or interact with=really hard movie to make (think the need for Wilson in "Castaway"). I haven't seen it but I understand they pulled it off by taking some major liberties with the facts.

Alex.

 

[bradgator2]

I watched Hotel for Dogs last night with the kids. Anyone want me to write a review?

 

[TLB]

I watched Hotel for Dogs last night with the kids. Anyone want me to write a review?

Watched that with my kids awhile back. Good film....for watching with kids.




Maze Runner
Post apocalyptic premise, frantic pace....exciting, but annoying as well. Don't want to spoil it, but I was annoyed that the 'grievers' that chase the kids are part animal and part robotic, but no explanation of what they are or how/why they were made is ever given. There are characters that should have been in red shirts, their deaths were foretold as soon as they got on screen. The 'bad' kid that argues with the lead does his role very well, but it is a stupid role with bad dialogue and pitiful actions. It is almost like he is only there because someone said there should be that role in the script - very sophomoric handling of his plot content. But what really got me was the lead frequently asking everyone to pause like his spidey sense is tingling, then WHOMP they get attacked. Run another 10 minutes and repeat. I liked the fantastical construction of the Maze, and the deeper plot about why they were put in it. I'll accept it was setting the stage for the subsequent 3 (?) films, but standing on it's own it was a B+ with credit for monsters and action, dinged for storyline.

Maze Runner 2 - Scorch Trials
Given the premise of the first one, this one picks up and keeps going with the plot but, given the twists in the initial film you keep wondering with every new person we meet which side they are really on. That could be good as it keeps things interesting, but it can also be annoying as you struggle to bond to anyone to care about them as a character. Oh, and the lead continues that 10 minutes of running punctuated by "Wait...." WHOMP. Credit for a few deeper wrinkles with our lead, and again solid monsters and action, but I find myself more annoyed by the storyline. Still, ,good enough to make me want to see the last 2 when they come out.

 

[WobbleGator]

Watched that with my kids awhile back. Good film....for watching with kids.




Maze Runner
Post apocalyptic premise, frantic pace....exciting, but annoying as well. Don't want to spoil it, but I was annoyed that the 'grievers' that chase the kids are part animal and part robotic, but no explanation of what they are or how/why they were made is ever given. There are characters that should have been in red shirts, their deaths were foretold as soon as they got on screen. The 'bad' kid that argues with the lead does his role very well, but it is a stupid role with bad dialogue and pitiful actions. It is almost like he is only there because someone said there should be that role in the script - very sophomoric handling of his plot content. But what really got me was the lead frequently asking everyone to pause like his spidey sense is tingling, then WHOMP they get attacked. Run another 10 minutes and repeat. I liked the fantastical construction of the Maze, and the deeper plot about why they were put in it. I'll accept it was setting the stage for the subsequent 3 (?) films, but standing on it's own it was a B+ with credit for monsters and action, dinged for storyline.

Maze Runner 2 - Scorch Trials
Given the premise of the first one, this one picks up and keeps going with the plot but, given the twists in the initial film you keep wondering with every new person we meet which side they are really on. That could be good as it keeps things interesting, but it can also be annoying as you struggle to bond to anyone to care about them as a character. Oh, and the lead continues that 10 minutes of running punctuated by "Wait...." WHOMP. Credit for a few deeper wrinkles with our lead, and again solid monsters and action, but I find myself more annoyed by the storyline. Still, ,good enough to make me want to see the last 2 when they come out.

 

[GatorBart]

We saw The Martian last week. Meh. I can't believe it's actually up for best picture.
I read the book before seeing the movie, which probably plays into my poor review (the book was really good). Obviously the movie can't cover all the story lines from the book and we wondered how folks followed the story without having read the book. Too many details were left out of the movie, IMO.
I'm curious, if you didn't read the book what did you think?
And if you read the book, what did you think?

 

[Captain Sasquatch]

I liked The Martian fine, it was a lot funnier than I was expecting. Ending was pretty hokey, though. Also surprised it's up for Best Picture, but it's been a REALLY weak year again for movies (like last year). I really thought Hollywood was on the rebound after a ridiculously strong 2013, but that year turned out to be an anomaly.

 

[URGatorBait]

We saw The Martian last week. Meh. I can't believe it's actually up for best picture.
I read the book before seeing the movie, which probably plays into my poor review (the book was really good). Obviously the movie can't cover all the story lines from the book and we wondered how folks followed the story without having read the book. Too many details were left out of the movie, IMO.
I'm curious, if you didn't read the book what did you think?
And if you read the book, what did you think?

I liked The Martian fine, it was a lot funnier than I was expecting. Ending was pretty hokey, though. Also surprised it's up for Best Picture, but it's been a REALLY weak year again for movies (like last year). I really thought Hollywood was on the rebound after a ridiculously strong 2013, but that year turned out to be an anomaly.

Agree with sas here.

I thought it was good, more realistic than Interstellar. I thought it played more to the actual science as well, at least for the most part. The way he got from the module to the Hermes was a bit "yea right" but at the end of the day, it is a movie afterall.

I did not read the book.

 

[Captain Sasquatch]

Agree with sas here.

I thought it was good, more realistic than Interstellar. I thought it played more to the actual science as well, at least for the most part. The way he got from the module to the Hermes was a bit "yea right" but at the end of the day, it is a movie afterall.

I did not read the book.

Oddly enough, Interstellar was based a lot more on actual astrophysics and space travel theory than The Martian. It incorporated a fantasy aspect that The Martian didn't have, which is why it might have seemed less realistic, but other than that, it was very true to science.

 

[URGatorBait]

Oddly enough, Interstellar was based a lot more on actual astrophysics and space travel theory than The Martian. It incorporated a fantasy aspect that The Martian didn't have, which is why it might have seemed less realistic, but other than that, it was very true to science.

I was under the impression, at least from previous conversations, that there was an overt effort to stick to science on the Martian, more so than Interstellar did with the fantasy type ending.

I was aware that Interstellar used a lot of real science, in fact the blu ray has either extras, or there's an extra disc, that talks about nothing but the science of it, and how they brought in different scientists to make it as real as possible.

I guess the Martian just didn't incorporate any fantasy, which would be why some may consider it sticking to the science more.

Either way, I enjoyed them both, fantasy or not. Hell I really liked Gravity.
I'm fascinated with space and tend to watch all the shows on those high number channels

 

[Gatordiddy]

I really liked Gravity

My two favorite space'men':

 

[GatorBart]

I was under the impression, at least from previous conversations, that there was an overt effort to stick to science on the Martian, more so than Interstellar did with the fantasy type ending.

I was aware that Interstellar used a lot of real science, in fact the blu ray has either extras, or there's an extra disc, that talks about nothing but the science of it, and how they brought in different scientists to make it as real as possible.

I guess the Martian just didn't incorporate any fantasy, which would be why some may consider it sticking to the science more.

Either way, I enjoyed them both, fantasy or not. Hell I really liked Gravity.
I'm fascinated with space and tend to watch all the shows on those high number channels

I thought Gravity was better than The Martian, but I didn't 'read' Gravity. Sometimes reading the book ruins the movie, as I think it did for me and The Martian.
On the other hand, I read Jurassic Park way back when before the movie came out and I thought the movie was awesome - actually went and saw it 5 times before it left the theaters.

 

[Captain Sasquatch]

Gravity was great, but had some glaring inaccuracies about orbiting Earth and the relative ease with which the characters jumped from object to object. But it got the silence of space right, and it's one of the first major films to ever nail that aspect of space.

 

[GatorJ]

Nothing wrong with it. Both films are hilarious.

I had problems getting into the 2nd one. I'll try again. The first one was hilarious.

 

[GatorJ]

Just saw The Force Awakens. Immensely better than the prequels. I thought it leaned on Harrison Ford too much. Kylo Ren was so badass in the beginning and then kind of turned into a whiny teenager that got his ass whipped by a girl.

It was darker than all the other Star Wars movies in the beginning. Almost spooky like. They should've kept that edge.

Could've been an A+. I give it an A-

 

[Gatorbait25]

Enjoyed The hateful eight. Felt like Tim Roth And Kurt Russell really nailed their characters. Also saw the imitation game
recently. Definitely would recommend it to someone who hasn't seen it.

 

[Gatordiddy]

Just watched "It Follows" last night - odd premise, but it works.
Not sure how much stock you guys put into the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes - but it got a 97%, so I'm like... how bad could it be.
It was pretty scary... and set in a Detroit suburb so it was kind of bleak.
If you like the Teen-style horror movies, this one was pretty good.

 

[WobbleGator]

Just watched "It Follows" last night - odd premise, but it works.
Not sure how much stock you guys put into the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes - but it got a 97%, so I'm like... how bad could it be.
It was pretty scary... and set in a Detroit suburb so it was kind of bleak.
If you like the Teen-style horror movies, this one was pretty good.

The movie was boring. It might as well been named "When AIDS attack".

 

[WillGetIn]

Sisters. I laughed. Hard. Loud. And at stuff the rest of the audience did not laugh at. I will watch this one again.

Daddy's Home. I laughed. Hard. Loud. And at stuff the rest of the audience did not laugh at. I will watch this one again.