Last Movie You Saw, Name & Review Movie • Page 90

I like that it (mostly) resisted really obvious grandstanding. And that it developed the male characters (particularly Riggs and the husband) beyond the mustache-twirlers they could have been.

 

Blade Runner - 8.5/10
Blade Runner 2049 - 9.5/10
Resident Evil* - 3.5/10
Resident Evil: Apocalypse* - 4/10
Resident Evil: Extinction* - 4.5/10
Resident Evil: Afterlife* - 2.5/10
Resident Evil: Retribution - 3.5/10
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter - 2.5/10
Lifeforce - 8/10
Friday the 13th (1980)* - 7/10
Friday the 13th Part II - 4/10
Friday the 13th Part III - 3/10
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter - 5/10

Think I may have slightly overdone it this week as it is only my third week where I have watched more than a dozen films.

The week got off to a stellar start with both Blade Runner films and even though I should have watched the original long ago I am glad I finally did just before seeing the much anticipated sequel which for my money was even better. Any film that is 40 minutes longer than its predecessor without feeling any longer than the original really has done its job in engrossing me and keeping me entertained which is down to it being visually stunning, having a good plot, great score and characters that aren't two dimensional. Blade Runner 2049 is one of only a few films this year that have been a feast for the eyes and I wish more people would see it.

A series I wish no one bothered to go and see is of course the Resident Evil series as all of them are pretty much the same while continuously suffering from the same issues be they the script, narrative, characters, special effects and being predictable. Resident Evil: Extinction is the only one that even comes close to being somewhat interesting but by the final act it divulges into the same stupidity, never mind that one scene that clearly rips off the far superior Day of the Dead. Least in parts the series is unintentionally hilarious which breaks up some of the stupidity.

Lifeforce despite not being the best film of the week was the biggest surprise of the week as my expectations were hardly high given that Cannon Films were involved and they are hardly known for their quality. Yet somehow despite the ludicrous plot (naked space vampires are brought back to Earth and practically decimate London) the direction by Tobe Hooper holds it all together while also not skimping on the insanity and campy tone that such a ludicrous plot needs to make it fun. The practical effects are also great, the action is well done, the cast is good (can't go wrong with the likes of Peter Firth and Patrick Stewart) and I wasn't bored for one moment. Just a shame it made less than half its $25m budget back but any less money used wouldn't have produced such a fun film.

Finished off the week with the first four Friday the 13th films (I will eventually finish the series off by next week) and apart from me liking the first one slightly more than I have done previously the series hasn't impressed me so far due to its predictability, mostly unlikable characters (though praise should be given to continuing to give strong and capable female leads), some kills that lack originality and an unnecessary 3D gimmick in Part III. They are far from boring though, have some okay practical effects (especially when Tom Savini is involved) and they at least have some well shot scenes.

So apart from continuing with the Friday the 13th series I should get in other horror films as this month gradually comes to a close with plenty more lined up that I am looking forward too.

 

Cube - 5/10
Midnight Meat Train - 6/10
Raw - 9/10

 

I really enjoyed Blade Runner 2049 as an experience. The world and the pacing was just really fun to me. I didn't really like the plot that much though unfortunately. Especially by comparison to the original.

 

Meyerowitz Stories was really good. Baumbach really knows how to get the best out of Sandler and Stiller.

 

Well least you enjoyed it to some degree but for me personally the plot had more going for it in 2049.

 

Happy Death Day was fun.

 

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning - 4/10
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives - 6/10
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood - 5.5/10
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan - 3.5/10
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday - 1.5/10
Jason X - 1/10
Freddy vs. Jason - 5/10
Friday the 13th (2009) - 2/10
The Bye Bye Man - 0.5/10

Most likely the worst week of this year so far due to the fact I didn't see a single film I really liked and only two just managed to stray into a positive score.

So started this week where the previous one finished with the Friday the 13th series and it was an experience which I don't ever want to go through again as apart from a couple of sequels the rest were mostly wearisome, annoying, stupid and just downright bad.

Jason Lives and The New Blood are the only two sequels I sort of liked as they both tried something new without screwing up like Jason Takes Manhattan did. Jason Lives puts a more comedic, self referential tone to the whole affair which actually works as the film is funny while the usual cliches exist which are played up even more than previous films. The New Blood puts a more supernatural spin on the slasher genre with Jason being pitted against a female protagonist who has telekinetic powers which makes for a great final act. The two worst films in the series are easily The Final Friday which looks like a violent TV movie and Jason X which is as desperate as it gets for a series on its tenth film. By no means the worst film series I have seen but given the amount of films with the general lack of evolving and not repeating the same mistakes does make the series frustrating. If another film is released (which wouldn't surprise me with other horror franchises making a return) then there isn't all that much to live up to but here is hoping the right kind of people get behind such a thing.

Ended the week with the worst film I have seen this year by quite some margin, The Bye Bye Man fails on every conceivable level for a horror film and the only thing that stops it from a total failure is the unintentionally hilarious final act.

Here is hoping every week up until the end of the year are not anywhere nearly as bad as this one was.

 

Jason X is great. It is the only one I have ever seen and probably will ever see but it really embraces its absurdity. Jason becomes a mecha warrior which alone is worth watching.

Is the Big Sick any good?

 

4, 6, and X are all very fun flicks. Better than the original

 

Happy Death Day - 5/10

Disappointing. The tone was all over the place and I was rolling my eyes or actually kinda bored for too much of it.

 

Yes. Very.

 

Yes, The Big Sick is good

 

The reboot of Friday the 13th is abysmally dumb. I can't believe I wasted moments of my life watching Jason do archery.

 

American Honey is very good. I'm not sure what Andrea Arnold's background is, but between this and Fish Tank its clear that she really knows how to capture adolescent poverty. Similar to Fish Tank there is plenty of beauty to be found in her shots, and I was a little worried going in it would be too similar to keep my attention but the story really stands on its own.

 

It really isn't especially since it is only the last like 10 minutes of the film and they do nothing good with it.

 

It also has the best kill of the series

 

Of all the films that you call great...

 

It is a lot of fun. Have you seen it?

 

Yeah, I think it’s fun too, it’s just not one I thought you’d mention. It does seem like you tend to dislike movies that try to be poignant and fail though, so I guess I forgot that you can like dumb stuff too

 

Gonna try and see The Florida Project this weekend

 

Haven't seen it talked about on this site at all yet, but I saw 'Only The Brave' last week and loved it. Great cast, great visuals, and a really heartbreaking story. Looks like it didn't do too great at the box office last weekend, especially considering it was going up against Boo 2! A Madea Halloween, The Snowman and Geostorm, Hopefully more people check it out.

 

Raw was a wild ride. So good.

 

Been wanting to see this

 

The Big Sick has a very good opening act, a genuinely moving romance between two people who gradually let their guard down to let someone in. However, the film relies on some of the worst types of Apatow umbrella themes, mainly trying to force humor in dramatic moments. It is hard to understand why this is in the film other than the fact that the main character is a comedian; it makes a little more sense when the other films dealt with more limited actors like Seth Rogen. However, with a cast that continually shows that it can handle dramatic scenes, it is exhausting to watch things like the drive-thru meltdown or the "so yeah what about 9/11?" like a bad comedy from over a decade ago. However, these are not enough by themselves to take away the strengths of the film, which also includes Kumail's admission of his irreligious behavior and white ex-girlfriend.