Now Playing....(Movies and Reviews)

[Not A Nice Person]

Finished "Mindhunters" tonight---yes, I'm a binge watcher.

Fantastic show. Not huge amounts of action, but the characters, script, acting, atmosphere are all just amazing.

~Boar

 

[Not A Nice Person]

Since it's my "no pants, do nothing day" of the weekend, and we have a movie thread now . . . I thought I might subject you all to Boar's fanboy squee: the amazing Luc Besson.

Of his earliest work, I've only seen "Le Grand Bleu (The Big Blue)" which is about competitive free diving in the way Field of Dreams is about baseball, I guess you'd say. It continues his long collaboration with Jean Reno and gets increasingly surreal as it progresses. Quite good.

With Anne Parillaud scorching the screen in the noir La Femme Nikita, we were still in subtitles territory, but this is the film that brought Besson to Hollywood---with the Bridget Fonda remake, Point of No Return. More slam-bang action than the original, but nowhere near as good. It did, however, open the doors for Besson to put his inimitable visual sensibilities and brilliant film editing on display with these next two English language outings:

Two of my all time favorite movies. The Fifth Element, in fact, may well be my favorite movie, period. I've watched it dozens of times. Okay, maybe a hundred times.

More next post.

~Boar

 

[George Scott]

Ditto on The Fifth Element, it's a classic that will never get old.

PS: Milla Jovovich's best role ever.

 

[Not A Nice Person]

Just as The Fifth Element brought Gary Oldman in from his previous movie, The Professional, for a second unforgettable role, after Fifth Element Besson found something amazing for Milla Jovovich to do next: portray Joan of Arc.

As always, the cinematography, editing, sets and visuals are just stunning. Milla's psychotic in the role but it works. The medieval battle scenes were absolutely the most brutally realistic I'd ever seen at that point. It's a good watch. Ending's a bit of a downer of course, because after all---they kill her!

In the years following this, Besson was involved with both the Transporter and Taken franchises, which both show his influence---sleek visual style, great action sequences---as well as a number of smaller projects. He's multi-talented, sometimes directing, sometimes producing, sometimes writing the screenplay and/or original story, sometimes all three. During this period he also did From Paris With Love, a Travolta vehicle that's a bit goofy but features his signature over the top action sequences and great filmwork.

People may be less familiar with these two . . . I think they were kind of a pet project for Besson; a future Paris "solves" its immigrant problem by walling off an entire district and leaving them all in there to fend for themselves. Biting social commentary and the first time I'd ever seen parkour on film.

And then there's this one:

I'm not sure what to tell you about this one. It's subtitled, and described as Amelie meets Raiders of the Lost Ark, which weirdly enough is EXACTLY how I described it before I'd seen that particular bit of advertising. You might also describe it as "Amelie meets Luc Besson," and get as accurate an idea. It's very . . . French. Like Valerian it's based on a comic book series. It's filled with French character actors who LOOK like comic book characters. It's preposterous and absurd. And it's weirdly fun.

More next post.

~Boar

 

[Not A Nice Person]

Then came . . . . Lucy.

Which some, especially in "serious" circles, pan relentlessly for using the unscientific canard about "only using 10% of our brains" as its central premise. To those people I say . . . STFU and eat your popcorn.

Personally, I thought Besson got a bit too clever with his film editing in the early sequences, and much too underwhelming with his finale at the end, but that everything in between was totally worth watching. Scarjo's action chops meet Besson's action directing and it's pure adrenaline, beautifully filmed.

Of course this brings us to his latest:

. . . . and gods do I ever love this movie! If I ever win a lottery, I'm arranging to see it in IMAX 3D the way it SHOULD be seen, which my local IMAX-equipped movie house inexplicably chose NOT to do, the assholes. I'll sit in the middle of the theater all by myself eating popcorn and glorying in the most amazing visual spectacle ever put on film.

Valerian showcases Besson's talents at their peak, and his flaws at their most annoying---like Chris Tucker's Ruby Rhod in Fifth Element, Rihanna's comic relief as the shape shifting dancer Bubble goes on . . . a bit too long, even if it does lead to an amazeballs action sequence later. And the plot is pretty thin---but then, so was Fifth Element's, after all. A movie like this you only really need enough story to hang all your action sequences and stunning visuals on, and Valerian is just non-stop incredible on both accounts.

I'm just patiently waiting to add it to my Amazon Video library so I can watch it, oh, I dunno, a hundred or so more times . . .

And there ya go. Hope y'all enjoyed the ride.

~Boar

 

[jfields]

Not on the big screen but the second season of Stranger Things released today. My wife and I watched season 1 again to refresh our memories, and I'd forgotten what an exceptional series that is. Very easy to recommend. Price is right, and the popcorn is lots cheaper.....

Ok, I'm hooked! Two episodes in and I already can't wait to get home tomorrow and watch some more episodes.

 

[bfreebern]

We finished Stranger Things - Season 1 last night. Can't wait to start Season 2.

 

[The Black Cloud]

Had a long plane ride over the weekend and watched Colossal, Ghost in the Shell (recent version with Scarlett Johansson), and Deadpool. Would recommend the latter two. Watching Colossal I kept thinking I could have written or directed something far better.

On a recommendation from my Irish friends that I visited, I watched Young Offenders on Netflix last night. Very recommended especially if you like flicks like Snatch, Lock Stock, etc (this one is more light-hearted). And like those flicks, it can take a bit to pick up the Irish accent.

 

[Not A Nice Person]

I'm a longtime fan of the Ghost in the Shell anime franchise and really enjoyed the movie! Scarjo's great in the role but the best part for me was all the exquisitely rendered takes on classic "set pieces" from the anime. Seeing so many scenes and moments from the anime rendered in live action with incredible CGI work was just amazing.

~Boar

 

[Johnny B]

Then came . . . . Lucy.

Which some, especially in "serious" circles, pan relentlessly for using the unscientific canard about "only using 10% of our brains" as its central premise. To those people I say . . . STFU and eat your popcorn.

Personally, I thought Besson got a bit too clever with his film editing in the early sequences, and much too underwhelming with his finale at the end, but that everything in between was totally worth watching. Scarjo's action chops meet Besson's action directing and it's pure adrenaline, beautifully filmed.

Of course this brings us to his latest:

. . . . and gods do I ever love this movie! If I ever win a lottery, I'm arranging to see it in IMAX 3D the way it SHOULD be seen, which my local IMAX-equipped movie house inexplicably chose NOT to do, the assholes. I'll sit in the middle of the theater all by myself eating popcorn and glorying in the most amazing visual spectacle ever put on film.

Valerian showcases Besson's talents at their peak, and his flaws at their most annoying---like Chris Tucker's Ruby Rhod in Fifth Element, Rihanna's comic relief as the shape shifting dancer Bubble goes on . . . a bit too long, even if it does lead to an amazeballs action sequence later. And the plot is pretty thin---but then, so was Fifth Element's, after all. A movie like this you only really need enough story to hang all your action sequences and stunning visuals on, and Valerian is just non-stop incredible on both accounts.

I'm just patiently waiting to add it to my Amazon Video library so I can watch it, oh, I dunno, a hundred or so more times . . .

And there ya go. Hope y'all enjoyed the ride.

~Boar

I watched Valerian the other night and aside from it being visually stimulating, I wasn't all that impressed. It was very hard for me to connect with the characters and it seemed like the story was rushed. There wasn't much back story, or character development. Valerian and his partners relationship seemed forced and fake to me.

IMAX 3D would be awesome though!

 

[Johnny B]

My wife requested a scary movie last night... Something she rarely does. So I looked for a movie that steered clear of paranormal stuff. She'd want to stop watching immediately....

So I find the movie Sinister. IMDB's describes it as a movie about a "Washed-up true-crime writer Ellison Oswalt finds a box of super 8 home movies that suggest the murder he is currently researching is the work of a serial killer whose work dates back to the 1960s."

I figured it would be a thriller about an author sifting through evidence to uncover the truth about a family that had recently been murdered...

Keep in mind, I don't get spooked very easily... this movie made me jump quite a few times and had me feeling pretty uncomfortable throughout...

If you like scary, this is worth a try. I'll be watching the sequel, without my wife, I'm sure.

 

[Johnny B]

@Not A Nice Person - If you like the actor who plays Valerian, you should try Cure for Wellness. Its a drama/mystery/suspense movie. Dane DeHaan was superb!

 

[kann]

Metallica played a "secret" gig under the name "Dehaan" a few years ago when their concert movie thingie "Through The Never" was released. It was a nod to Dane Dehaan who played the main protagonist role in it.

 

[bfreebern]

Well, we finished Stranger Things, Season 2 over the weekend. The entire family watched it and we're now sad that we'll have to wait for another season to come out. Great show, now I'm stuck reading posts about it, on Reddit.

 

[MX]

lol, trying to get a Superhero weekend on tap and see Thor and JL

 

[Bsneed51]

lol, trying to get a Superhero weekend on tap and see Thor and JL

I'm torn on Justice League. The DC movies have been less than stellar, and I love The Flash tv show so I'm afraid of how they'll portray him in the movie. From the previews he looks like the comic relief/ pathetic "little brother" character.

 

[Undegreed]

Watched "Circle" last night and as usual the book was way better. It's a great concept of how far we could go, in a bad sense, with social media but the movie didn't really have the time to develop it well. It was worth the $5 on PPV. I think I would have liked it more if I had not read the book.

 

[MX]

Watched "Circle" last night and as usual the book was way better. It's a great concept of how far we could go, in a bad sense, with social media but the movie didn't really have the time to develop it well. It was worth the $5 on PPV. I think I would have liked it more if I had not read the book.

almost rented this Saturday, but chose Kidnap instead.

Kidnap - typical chase thriller, best thing about the movie was Lew Temple. For the most pare reads like a Sunday comic.

 

[Undegreed]

I started watching "Breakout Kings" on Netflix last night. The premise of the series is difficult to believe but the interactions between the characters makes the show worth watching. Jimmi Simpson does a great job.

 

[kann]

I started watching "Breakout Kings" on Netflix last night. The premise of the series is difficult to believe but the interactions between the characters makes the show worth watching. Jimmi Simpson does a great job.

Jimmi Simpson is one of the best "no small parts" supporting actors out there. I might have to give this a shot.