Movie What's the last movie you saw? (5)

[peternorth]

The Lego Movie: 2.

The movie reprises the roles of Hollywoods dorky yet lovable dad Will Ferrell as the adult voice. This time however his on screen presence is shaded by the lovely Maya Rudolph who was barely a bit part in the 1st instalment.

The movie begins with an overarching viewpoint of lego utopia, set after Lego Movie: 1. Unlikely hero, emmet (chris pratt) embodies the societys happy go lucky attitude. His friends batman (will arnett), lucy aker wyldstyle (elizabeth banks), unikitty (the stunning alison brie), benny (charlie day) right behind him witness yet another incursion of another kind. The sunny dispositioned world is under threat again as General Mayhem (steph beatriz) and her duplo army develop a misunderstanding with the lego world. War is upon us. Yes Duplo.

The first act finishes well and succinctly as an event catalyst occurs giving rise to the second act. Royalty of the enemy is behind this and seeks power through union which is unrequited, or so it seems. Very game of thrones like.

Twists and turns featuring new characters, a chris pratt like legoman complete with dinosaurs are introduced. WTF????

Once again, what is seen on the surface as a kids movie is actually not. The movie fleshes out key themes and shines a torch on society, while holding up a mirror to the planet is it stands now. Two worlds divided, one seeking power through union, misunderstandings and cloak and dagger shenanigans masking what the true agendas are in the leaders. Not too dissimilar to the worlds leaders right now. Mask. Such a great metaphor that is embolden in the third act as key characters are demasked to show their true colours.

It also seeks to tap into adult memories as retro (80s) lego sees a new threat in duplo. But there's more

Spoiler

As we saw in the first movie it was father vs son. Now, years have past and there are the children playing with lego. Sure to cause some outrage amongst people (its gone viral!).....the mainstay lego was the ownership of the son - cars, pirates, superheroes vs the pink, cutesy, lovey dovey duplo lego of the daughter. This caused friction that built the spine of the movie, gender lego war

Overall I felt the movie fell flat and not sure a sequel was worthwhile. Upon reflection during the movie I was thinking where is this going? What's it purporting to be? Normally a formulaic structure becomes monotonous and predictable, but that was lacking. Sometimes twists and turns are good, but in this case I was left wanting more with a clearer direction.

out of 10

 

[GreyCrow]

4/10

So it bricked then?

 

[peternorth]

4/10

So it bricked then?

Lack the brix and mortar

 

[JackOutback]

Are you saying it...


















Didn’t build on the original?














YEEEEEEEAAAAAHHHHHH

 

[peternorth]

I'm saying it finished unassembled

 

[peternorth]

AFter The first lego movie, the producers needed to le-go

 

[Financialpanther]

I'm saying it finished unassembled

Just didn’t connect?

 

[peternorth]

Just didn’t connect?

Everything was not awesome

 

[Frank Bunn]

The Highwaymen - Netflix

Kevin Costner, Woody Harrelson

2 out to pasture Texas Rangers are called in to help in the hunt for Bonnie and Clyde.

At over 2 hours it would be easy to dismiss this as Dances With Gangsters due to the sweeping landscape shots and the depression era ugliness and the slowness of the movie but its actually a very good movie highlighting the differences between the old and the new. The haves and have nots.

Hunting criminals is about following a trail, trying to get ahead of them , understanding them. Who better then Texas Rangers that used horses , the old, and find themselves using cars. The new.

The film is shot from Hamer and Maneys viewpoint and you see very very little of Bonnie and Clyde. I liked this.

It may not suit all tastes but I rate it 8/10

I enjoyed this. 7/10.

 

[kickazz]

Johnny Got His Gun (1971) (YouTube)

For those playing at home, this is the movie that features in the music video for "One" by Metallica.

What is the worst scenario you could possibly ever imagine yourself being in? Directed by the author of the book of the same name, this movie delves in to what that may just feel like.

WW1 soldier Joe Bonham, during an effort to retrieve a decaying body, is hit by a mortar. His CO at the time makes mention that "death has a dignity of its own". In this case, the mortar strike does not lead to Joe's death, and as the movie progresses, we see that in escaping death, Joe also unfortunately escapes the dignity that would have come with it.

The movie is more or less half black and white, in the present day, with Joe in hospital; and half in over-exposed colour, Joe remembering/imagining.

Joe's injuries are so severe that even though he is 100% mentally there, his touch with reality is so compromised due to his handicapped ability to interact or indeed interface with it, that he often second guesses himself. It is a fascinating journey into how that would manifest itself in one's mind. Needless to say it's pretty horrific, but as the film progresses, it's also amazing to see the the persistence of the human spirit, the power of introspection, and Joe's willingness to try and salvage something from his fate.

The film also shows the perspective of those in the military who are now in charge of his care, and the varying opinions / motives they have.

The film is big on symbolism and also has it's somewhat surreal moments as well, which are quite thought provoking. As a film that delves into the meaning of existence and being, religion plays an appropriate but not overbearing part. Jesus (played enigmatically be Donald Sutherland) appears and speaks to Joe in his dreams, but ultimately doesn't seem to provide much in the way of solid answers. Indeed, when he takes a group of soldiers on board a metaphorical train to their deaths, it is unclear whether or not Joe is supposed to join them.

Joe's father, whilst shown as a loving figure, also has moments that suggests he represents the higher institutional powers (government, military) that "know what's good for us" and are prepared to sacrifice their young men for some greater material good. (This movie is unapologetically and transparently anti-war)

I've heard that those who have read the book find the movie a little trite or condescending. The acting can be a bit ordinary at times, but it's worth watching, and I am inspired now to read the book.

3.5 Stars

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Never watched Lego movies. One child safe joke stretched out for 90 minutes four times. Pass.

 

[Frank Bunn]

Glass

Just saw this and not sure what to make of it on whole just yet. I feel like it lacked the depth of split/unbreakble but maybe it was more subtle and such things will be clearer on rewatch. There were things I loved and things I hated. Other times it was boring but others I was fully immersed. The only thing im sure of is that is going to polarise opinions but I will need to see again because there is a bit to process by the end of the film.

Unbreakable and Split were both very good movies so a sequel featuring the main characters from each could have been awesome. But it was pretty bad. The first half hour was good then it went downhill from there. There's too much talking, repetition and things that don't really make sense. The ending was crappy too.

5/10

 

[Macpotata]

Saw invincible again last week starring Marky Mark. Based on the true story of how they gave an unknown off the street a crack at the NFL playing for the Philadelphia Eagles. *en great movie.

Fell asleep last night watching Braven. Never heard of it, but enjoyed what I saw. Did get far fetched as I started to doze off, assuming it got more ridiculous as it went on. Maybe a good thing I fell asleep perhaps but in any case wasn't bad.

 

[King Elvis]

Watched The Dirt on Netflix; don't know how much is real or made up, but it was alright - decent braindead movie for a Monday night.

 

[Red Black and Blue]

Destroyer- very good 8/10. A little flat a times and an unnecessary attempt at a twist, but some high quality acting from Kidman and a few great bank robbery scenes make it a great addition to the cop with a haunted past genre.

 

[Crankyhawk]

Everything was not awesome

But everything is better if we stick together

I was still happy with it, agree not as good as original but still a 7/10 for me.

 

[raskolnikov]

The Highwaymen - Netflix

Kevin Costner, Woody Harrelson

2 out to pasture Texas Rangers are called in to help in the hunt for Bonnie and Clyde.

At over 2 hours it would be easy to dismiss this as Dances With Gangsters due to the sweeping landscape shots and the depression era ugliness and the slowness of the movie but its actually a very good movie highlighting the differences between the old and the new. The haves and have nots.

Hunting criminals is about following a trail, trying to get ahead of them , understanding them. Who better then Texas Rangers that used horses , the old, and find themselves using cars. The new.

The film is shot from Hamer and Maneys viewpoint and you see very very little of Bonnie and Clyde. I liked this.

It may not suit all tastes but I rate it 8/10

I love the way revisionists have made Bonnie into equal badasses, when by all accounts she just tagged along for the ride.

 

[FISTO]

I'm watching Glass right now bored out of my brain and juggling with giving up.

 

[Sketi]

Us

Jordan Peele back at it again. People who insist on comparing it to Get Out may be disappointed, this one has more comedic horror elements and less social commentary. Well acted with plenty of originality, Peele's take on a pretty tired genre has a refreshing feel to me.

I think it will be similar to Get Out in the sense that re-watches will be rewarded with little easter eggs of context and symbolism etc.

It's not perfect but I go to the movies to be entertained and Us brings that in spades 8/10

 

[Macpotata]

I watched Taken the other night. What a ******* pile of s**t that is. A fair bit of it is kind of cool and it was ok to a point. How many guys can one man kill/bullets can he avoid. Getting choked when he's tied up and surrounded by a few guys with guns and escaping that? Comon man.

Taken 2. Smashing several men after he escapes gun fire etc fighting like he's in the Matrix. Changed the channel there and then.

 

[Sketi]

I watched Taken the other night. What a ******* pile of s**t that is. A fair bit of it is kind of cool and it was ok to a point. How many guys can one man kill/bullets can he avoid. Getting choked when he's tied up and surrounded by a few guys with guns and escaping that? Comon man.

It's ridiculous to the point of parody. But that's what makes it so good.

 

[charcoalchicken]

Baywatch on netflix - garbage, the only decent thing about it was the rock, not worth wasting your time

 

[Financialpanther]

Baywatch on netflix - garbage, the only decent thing about it was the rock, not worth wasting your time

The only redeeming feature of that movie is a spell of roughly 5-10 minutes where the Rock rips on Zac Efron's character with references to 90s and early 00's boy bands - that is all - otherwise like the tv show, more enjoyment could be derived by watching it with the TV muted.

 

[Chism]

The Silence on Netflix.

Went into this full of promise comparing it to the excellent Bird Box but gee i was disappointed as the film had so many flaws regarding the creatures in it and the plot itself.

Worth a look if you liked Bird Box but don't go into it expecting to much.

4/10.

 

[LordLucifer]

"The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir"

Saw it yesterday, really enjoyed it too.