The Movie Thread

[KarthXLR]

[spoiler]http://www.huffingtonpost.com/seth-abramson/40-unforgivable-plot-holes-in-star-wars-the-force-awakens_b_8850324.html this is entertaining[/spoiler]

One of my biggest pet peeves is people using the phrase "plot hole" when it's not a plot hole. A plot hole is something in the story that happens SPECIFICALLY against the logic of the film, such as showing a vampire shot with bullets who is unphased and then later killing the same vampire with the same bullets. If your complaint is "Why don't the just buy a gun to kill the guy instead of using a sword", that's bad writing, not a plot hole. 

Literally half of these aren't even inconsistencies, it's just the author nitpicking certain choices. Like, christ, you're allowed to complain about a movie just don't fucking say it's a plot hole if you don't even know what a fucking plot hole is. Not to mention it doesn't even seem like the author saw the movie

 [spoiler]Just because I'm a pedantic asshole who has way too much time, I'll take a couple of points here:

• On the point about Kylo Ren not using the force during his fight. Well, yeah. The force is a fickle thing. Nobody truly understands it aside from Jedi Masters. And Ren and Ray ain't no jedi masters. Also "None of this stops Kylo Ren from designing and building his own, completely impractical cross-barred lightsaber." I guess they're ignoring the part where Ren fucking burns Finn with the "impractical" lightsaber hilt.
  
• 8. It's okay that Poe survived a Tie Fighter crash; after all, so did Finn.But has any film ever cared less about (a) giving the false impression a character has died, and then (b) having that character show up later with no one being surprised by it? Even Finn doesn't seem to care very much what the explanation is.
  ...what? Finn doesn't care? I guess running to him and hugging him after screaming his name and asking him how he survived counts as not caring.
  
• 13. Really? Was there no previous order Finn had ever refused to execute?
  they mention in the goddamn movie it was his first mission.
  
• Ren immediately exclaims to himself, "Solo!" Yet a few minutes later, when Ren is just twenty feet from Solo, he can't detect him
  yeah he's sensing him he's not a fucking GPS. 
  
• 24. Rey says that the Millennium Falcon is "garbage" and hasn't been flown in many, many years. Indeed, it's such junk, in her view, that she won't even board it when she's about to be ripped to pieces by twenty Tie Fighters. Then she gets on board and it basically flies perfectly. So much so that it's not at all clear why no one has been flying it, let alone why its owner (Unkar Plutt) hasn't tried to sell it at any point over the past dozen years -- despite the fact that Plutt appears to live in a hovel.
  This would actually be a legit point if it wasn't for the fact in EVERY Star Wars movie the Falcon is referred to like a piece of junk. It's a space hot-rod put together with spare parts Solo scavenged over his many years as a smuggler and cheater. It breaks down often, it has outdated guns that have to be operated manually, it has a terrible shape and design that is impractical to fly. It's something the fans seem to forget about just by being blinded by "OMG IT'S THE FALCON THE BEST SHIP EVER"
  
• 29. Who trained Rey to fight with a staff as effectively as she does
  Well gee she couldn't have possibly picked up the skills over the years
  
• 34. How do the Rathtars on Han's freighter get loose?
  Look, I'm not one of those people...but did they fucking watch the movie? Were they on their phone? Did they not see the part where the doors open, the Rathtars get loose, and Rey says "Wrong Fuse"? Like fuck it I'm done at this point.
  

[/spoiler]

I HATE clickbait articles like these. They're shittily written and done for a quick fan rage while simultaenously putting some of the worst fucking criticisms you could give against a movie like this. And don't mistake me for some blind fan, The Force Awakens has its issues, but these are absolutely pathetic and a waste of space.

Christ. 
Anyhow.

 The Force Awakens Spoilers:
[spoiler]
I was real nervous about going to see this, but I'm pretty satisfied with the result. A certain childlike joy was on my face once the closing credits hit, and I was thinking to myself "Oh man, I hope the next one is good too!"

There were a lot of small changes to the universe which I liked, such as Storm Troopers not being useless anymore, the idea these struggling forces still at war, despite the both of them being well past their prime, and all those goddamn practical effects. Beautiful. And BB-8. Because they knew everyone was going to love him and he's the most goddamn cool thing since that one white-and-blue trash can on wheels. 

Like I said before, it's not without its problems. The pacing of the first act is not great. It takes what feels like an hour to get off Jakku and is WELL past the point of introducing our characters. I do think they tried to do a bit too much, as we have to balance on 3 separate plot lines at once all within the first half-hour, compared to Star Wars where there was really only one at a time during the first act. Something I was afraid of also made it into the movie. JJ is notorious for nostalgia baiting (I mean, he made an entire movie about nostalgia baiting called Super 8), and it's no surprise there's quite a bit of pandering here. Some of it is welcome, such as the falcon, but when we see the space chess from A New Hope pop up for no other reason than "Hey, remember this from Episode 4?" is annoying. I spotted this type of stuff every so often during the movie. 

That and the fact they made a "biggerer and betterer" death star kind of made me roll my eyes. Like...no one noticed that a fucking planet got hollowed out? I mean...how long does it take to build something like that? How the hell did it stay secret? But, whatever, it happened.

Overall though, I think JJ and company did a great job. I'm hoping they don't try to copy the original trilogy too much, as I think everyone wants a NEW star wars, not the last one with better effects. 
[/spoiler]


I'd recommend The Force Awakens to just about anyone and I was pretty dern satisfied with it. But...oh man, with Rian Johnson at the director's chair for Episode VIII, I'm not sure if they can keep it up. Here's hoping for the best.

[Eschatos]

Just saw the Force Awakens. Overall I was kinda disappointed. Half because I'm not 8 anymore and I can spot everything that doesn't make sense, and half because the stuff that didn't make sense REALLY didn't make sense.
[spoiler]Most obvious: why is there even a resistance? The good guys won in episode 6. The resistance should be the republic. They didn't even make the effort to justify it with a paragraph of text at the opening saying that the Republic got complacent and didn't want to spend resources hunting down the remnants of the empire that killed billions of people. [/spoiler]

[KarthXLR]

Saw Hateful Eight the other day. I usually at least enjoy Tarantino's work...but this one was just really not very good. Profoundly ugly and just vile-feeling. On top of that it is quite literally almost 30-minutes too long. It makes me wonder "Why does this story need to be told? Why is it interesting?"

I figured it might just be me since I wasn't a huge fan of Django Unchained either (I still liked it, though I think the third act is terrible), but even friends who are Tarantino-crazy seem pretty lukewarm or in-denial about this one.

[Luinbariel]

Just saw the Force Awakens. Overall I was kinda disappointed. Half because I'm not 8 anymore and I can spot everything that doesn't make sense, and half because the stuff that didn't make sense REALLY didn't make sense.
[spoiler]Most obvious: why is there even a resistance? The good guys won in episode 6. The resistance should be the republic. They didn't even make the effort to justify it with a paragraph of text at the opening saying that the Republic got complacent and didn't want to spend resources hunting down the remnants of the empire that killed billions of people. [/spoiler]

This probably doesn't need a spoiler tag but just in case.

[spoiler]Well, the Empire was huge. Although they took down the Death Star twice, it was just one (albeit huge) facility. Their supporters and their numbers were still galaxy-wide and still massive. Many people still saw the Empire as correct and were happy to support it. Remember where the Empire got it's roots, as well. 

The destruction of the Death Star (and of course the apparent deaths of the Emperor and Darth Vader) didn't instantly dismantle the Empire as a whole. All of their members, many of whom were very willing participants, didn't suddenly decide "welp we lost, time to become the New Republic!" It takes a massive effort to tear down something that large, and at the same time, build the New Republic and repair as much of the damage done as possible while still being able to protect their members. The New Republic simply could not do it all, and it's only been about 20 years. To un-do all that will take generations more.

There would still be attacks, still be attempts to gain resources and to take advantage of the New Republic as much as possible by the remaining Empire. As far as I know, the Empire would still have been in possession of massive ship building facilities and huge, already built fleets that were just elsewhere in space doing whatever. And now, their command structure was interrupted, so many took their fleets for their own and tried to make themselves the new hot thing. That's a LOT of things to try and keep tabs on.[/spoiler]

[[SiN] Merc]

Watched almost all of Mel Brooks' library yesterday. I love how it still holds up so well.

[FlyingMongoose]

Watched almost all of Mel Brooks' library yesterday. I love how it still holds up so well.

Can confirm, still hilarious

[KarthXLR]

Saw Hail Caesar this weekend. Expected the usual brilliant performances and story with great theming wrapped in a disappointing ending, got a weak core of a story with sort of amusing vignettes anchored between really strange casting choices instead.

Also got to see "What We Do in the Shadows", a hilarious mockumentary about vampires living in New Zealand. Really funny, and also kind of endearing. Highly recommend.

[Surf314]

Saw Hail Caesar this weekend. Expected the usual brilliant performances and story with great theming wrapped in a disappointing ending, got a weak core of a story with sort of amusing vignettes anchored between really strange casting choices instead.

Also got to see "What We Do in the Shadows", a hilarious mockumentary about vampires living in New Zealand. Really funny, and also kind of endearing. Highly recommend.

I am at the opposite end of you on Hail Caesar. It was easily one of my top Coen brothers movies. I know you technically know movies more than me so sorry if I get this all wrong but I think Hail Caesar was a masterpiece of cinema. The Coen brothers have never really done plot well. If you look at all of their good movies, none of it really has a plot. What they do well is two things: 1) they do people better than almost anyone; and 2) they do scenes better than most with the exception of maybe Tarantino and a few others. 

As to point #1. They really know how to put their actors in absolutely absurd situations and somehow have real genuine people shine through. This is something that I think really draws people The Big Lebowski and I think the nailed even better with Hail Caesar. All of these ridiculous things are happening but no matter how crazy things get you get the feeling like whoever you are watching on screen could be someone that you've met before. This is really surprising because in most other movies, especially comedies, the people are totally not real.  They are contrivances to make the movie work.  With Coen brothers movies its the opposite, the weird crazy things happen to real people and the real people deal with it.

As to point #2.  Coen brothers do movies as art in such subtle but important ways that it really blows my mind.  The choice of color in Hail Caesar is really incredible.  Most of the shots look like it was shot in technicolor or kodachrome.  The scenes are these crazy set pieces that feel so period appropriate and yet always end up in some hilarious and off-kilter place.  They also do repetition and have these thematic elements tucked away in every shot.  It often feels like a poem or some other work of art.  I honestly just don't know how they do it so effortlessly.

I'm drunk so excuse my rambling.

[WaR1761]

Everyone needs to watch this... SO GOOD.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL...ICmSmmCygg

[Mission Difficult]

Saw Hail Caesar this weekend. Expected the usual brilliant performances and story with great theming wrapped in a disappointing ending, got a weak core of a story with sort of amusing vignettes anchored between really strange casting choices instead.

Also got to see "What We Do in the Shadows", a hilarious mockumentary about vampires living in New Zealand. Really funny, and also kind of endearing. Highly recommend.

I am at the opposite end of you on Hail Caesar. It was easily one of my top Coen brothers movies. I know you technically know movies more than me so sorry if I get this all wrong but I think Hail Caesar was a masterpiece of cinema. The Coen brothers have never really done plot well. If you look at all of their good movies, none of it really has a plot. What they do well is two things: 1) they do people better than almost anyone; and 2) they do scenes better than most with the exception of maybe Tarantino and a few others. 

I'm pretty much where you are with this, Karth. I felt like the story was pretty sloppy and ultimately not very rewarding. It was pretty to look at and if you're a fan of old Hollywood then I'd recommend it. It really did feel like a series of vignettes with Eddie Mannix being a common thread. As for the Coen brothers not doing story well, look at Raising Arizona or Blood Simple.

[KarthXLR]

Saw Hail Caesar this weekend. Expected the usual brilliant performances and story with great theming wrapped in a disappointing ending, got a weak core of a story with sort of amusing vignettes anchored between really strange casting choices instead.

Also got to see "What We Do in the Shadows", a hilarious mockumentary about vampires living in New Zealand. Really funny, and also kind of endearing. Highly recommend.

I am at the opposite end of you on Hail Caesar. It was easily one of my top Coen brothers movies. I know you technically know movies more than me so sorry if I get this all wrong but I think Hail Caesar was a masterpiece of cinema. The Coen brothers have never really done plot well. If you look at all of their good movies, none of it really has a plot. What they do well is two things: 1) they do people better than almost anyone; and 2) they do scenes better than most with the exception of maybe Tarantino and a few others. 

I'm pretty much where you are with this, Karth. I felt like the story was pretty sloppy and ultimately not very rewarding. It was pretty to look at and if you're a fan of old Hollywood then I'd recommend it. It really did feel like a series of vignettes with Eddie Mannix being a common thread. As for the Coen brothers not doing story well, look at Raising Arizona or Blood Simple.

Apologies about the late reply, I've been away from a solid internet source. 

I would agree that the Coen bros are actually usually totally on-point with plot. They understand theming, metaphor, character writing, and pacing perfectly. They are really damn good at writing and directing movies. What I don't like about them is that their endings tend to be samey in a "It was all for naught" way. It feels like the movies ultimately don't matter a majority of the time. They even make fun of themselves for it in The Big Lebowski. 

What disappointed me about Hail Caesar is that it left me asking "so what?" so much. Why bother having these long scenes about movies if they don't contribute anything to the main plot? Why bother with Jonah Hill's character if he's just in one scene? Why bother with the communist subplot if it doesn't contribute to the main plot at all? Why, why, why? 

It's all shot beautifully and the actors do their best with the material, but it just feels really dull most of the time. 

And I would agree with Mission Difficult, the Coens have some masterfully crafted stories in their repertoire. They can do story just fine. Endings on the other hand...

[FlyingMongoose]

Well... Here it is... The first Official Trailer

https://youtu.be/w3ugHP-yZXw

Also they're bringing back Ecto-Cooler Hi-C

Sent from my interplanetary personal communicator

[Luinbariel]

This feels really flat to me. I didn't care for what I saw at all.

[KarthXLR]

I've been waiting for the trailer since the whole internet has been going "FUCKING WOMEN DON'T BELONG IN GHOSTBUSTERS", but that trailer was pretty stale.

Seems like an obligatory remake as opposed to an inspired one.

[FlyingMongoose]

I kind of got the following

"Hey it's girls now! And they can Be quirky and funny! Oh and here's a stereotypical black chick from the city".

[matter11]

Zootopia was better than I thought.

As expected, lots of good little animal puns/jokes that you have to look for in the background

[Surf314]

Zootopia was better than I thought.

As expected, lots of good little animal puns/jokes that you have to look for in the background

I really enjoyed everyone's a little bit racist, furry edition.