Movies you've been watching...

[nightflameauto]

I know you mean this because as a standalone movie it's good, but fuck am I tired of every movie needing to be franchised. Nobody isn't a deep movie lore-wise, it's not like John Wick where there's an entire underground world, it'd be an anthology of sorts but it's going to boil down to the same core aspect every time and I think we're all over the 'old retired wet-work agent who gets pulled back in' genre.

People were saying the same thing about Violent Night, and it's like, just let good things exist on their own every now and then

I read ya. Knowing what Hollywood does with anything, if they made sequels to Nobody, they'd lose the charm by the third, maybe the second, and it'd just turn into 2 Fast 2 Furious 2 Kill-Everybody and forget the little bit of humor that made it worth watching to begin with.

I miss having this type of movie made on a regular basis though, so I do clamor for more when we see something this good. Characters that feel like they matter is probably the driver for me. So many action films are just cookie-cutter nobodies playing together. To the point you could literally swap characters around scene to scene and not notice the difference. Nobody's so on-point even the bracelet felt like a real character.

 

[BlackMastodon]

I know you mean this because as a standalone movie it's good, but fuck am I tired of every movie needing to be franchised. Nobody isn't a deep movie lore-wise, it's not like John Wick where there's an entire underground world, it'd be an anthology of sorts but it's going to boil down to the same core aspect every time and I think we're all over the 'old retired wet-work agent who gets pulled back in' genre.

People were saying the same thing about Violent Night, and it's like, just let good things exist on their own every now and then

The number of John Wick-likes that have popped up in the last decade is fucking staggering. Netflix is lousy with them, and I'm sure there are plenty more.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

The number of John Wick-likes that have popped up in the last decade is fucking staggering. Netflix is lousy with them, and I'm sure there are plenty more.

The first one is fine, but the sequels could be better.

 

[MFB]

The number of John Wick-likes that have popped up in the last decade is fucking staggering. Netflix is lousy with them, and I'm sure there are plenty more.

JW isn't even the OG for the resurrection in that genre, all that shit goes back to fucking 2008 or whenever when Liam Neeson did Taken. THAT was the start of this "ex-assassin/whatever-you-want-call-them coming out of retirement because he has to" and brother let me tell you, that bubble burst a long time ago, it's just that no one refuses to admit it.

 

[Seabeast2000]

The Rover - just watch it, the end ties it all together.
GEMINI - well done indie style mystery amongst rich young LA kids
KImi - thriller is, worth the time.

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

JW isn't even the OG for the resurrection in that genre, all that shit goes back to fucking 2008 or whenever when Liam Neeson did Taken. THAT was the start of this "ex-assassin/whatever-you-want-call-them coming out of retirement because he has to" and brother let me tell you, that bubble burst a long time ago, it's just that no one refuses to admit it.

Taken definitely started the 'action dad power fantasy' genre, and I'm sure the Equalizer reboots with Denzel Washington killed that on its tracks. The difference that made John Wick more fun than taken is that the action scenes are genuine. It's not like watching Liam Neeson struggle to climb a gate with 13 fast cuts, but seeing Keanu Reeves actually fighting with martial artists, struggling, feeling pain and weaponising a horse fells much more visceral and authentic. Same way as the Hong Kong action movies are filmed.

Nobody is a good continuation of that since Bob Odenkirk does a great job of making the audience feel the same pain he feels, just like Keanu does.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Taken definitely started the 'action dad power fantasy' genre, and I'm sure the Equalizer reboots with Denzel Washington killed that on its tracks. The difference that made John Wick more fun than taken is that the action scenes are genuine. It's not like watching Liam Neeson struggle to climb a gate with 13 fast cuts, but seeing Keanu Reeves actually fighting with martial artists, struggling, feeling pain and weaponising a horse fells much more visceral and authentic. Same way as the Hong Kong action movies are filmed.

Nobody is a good continuation of that since Bob Odenkirk does a great job of making the audience feel the same pain he feels, just like Keanu does.

Exactly. The action sequences in JW are what set it apart. The blend of judo, cqc and kali is really unique, especially the way he transitions seamlessly from grappling to gunfighting. The only movie I can think of that did a blend like that better than JW was The Man From Nowhere.

 

[Wiltonauer]

Watched I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House over the weekend. If you like slow-burning Gothic horror with a masterfully created atmosphere of dread, it’s worth checking out.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

Watched I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House over the weekend. If you like slow-burning Gothic horror with a masterfully created atmosphere of dread, it’s worth checking out.

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What the fuck is up with these overly long titles for horror films?

 

[Wiltonauer]

What the fuck is up with these overly long titles for horror films?

It’s a better movie and a shorter title than, Guys You’ll Never Believe What Happened the First Night Daniel and Kaitlyn Slept in Their New House That They Bought for a Surprisingly Good Deal But It Still Looks Like It Should Totally Be Out of Their Price Range.

 

[manu80]

watched scream 5 yesterday before maybe checking the 6th, and my daughter wanted to know what it was as Jenny "wednesday" Ortega starred in...well nothing new here. The scariest part was seeing Courtney cox and her surgery...

 

[nightflameauto]

What the fuck is up with these overly long titles for horror films?

It tends to be a signal to folks sick of ADHD everything that this may be a slow burn but it should pay off. It's also a signal to the ADHD crowd that they'll probably not be able to stand it because it won't be just flashing lights and constant jump screams.

 

[Wiltonauer]

I’ve been wanting to watch another one that’s probably a slow burn, again with an intimidatingly long name:

We Have Always Lived in the Castle Well I Mean Not Always But Like a Really Long Time I Think My Mom Said Our Ancestors Started Building It In Twelve — Wait Eleven — No Twelve Thirty-Six AD and It Took Like Twenty-Four Years and Apparently Managing the Punchlist Was a Bear Like Literally Medieval Torture

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

It tends to be a signal to folks sick of ADHD everything that this may be a slow burn but it should pay off. It's also a signal to the ADHD crowd that they'll probably not be able to stand it because it won't be just flashing lights and constant jump screams.

As a side note, sometimes "slow burn" is code for next to nothing happens.

 

[BMFan30]

Been watching tons of old skate VHS & DVD's.

 

[TheBlackBard]

Watched I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House over the weekend. If you like slow-burning Gothic horror with a masterfully created atmosphere of dread, it’s worth checking out.

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Thank you for this recommendation, I'll put it down on my list!

 

[Wiltonauer]

As a side note, sometimes "slow burn" is code for next to nothing happens.

Yes, it is a warning for people who insist on at least 90% of the movie being CGI and jump scares, with a screenplay that came directly out of someone’s backside, to stay away. At least if you don’t have the budget for effects, you can still shoot with a script phoned in by some rambling nutjob and then take the high road by adopting the pretense of having made some kind of arthouse modern classic.

 

[BMFan30]

Sucks about all the awkward silence where youtube rips the song out of the skate video due to copyright.

 

[wankerness]

Watched All Quit on the Western Front earlier today and goddamn was that bleak. Beautifully shot, and had at least a similar tone to the book from what I remember and did a great job of showing the absolutely brutal conditions those soldiers were dealing with.

I forgot to mention, I watched that too in my Oscar leadup. My thought was it was kind of pointless. I mean, I guess if you look at it as a horror movie it functions on that level, but it doesn't say anything that wasn't already said better by earlier war films (including the first version of this movie), and thus it mainly seems to exist to be able to more accurately depict horrors of that time. The characters are barely developed, the action sorta lurches around, and the only scene that really stuck out to me as something I hadn't seen before that was really well staged was the scene with the tank. I'd probably give it like a 7/10 cause of its technical merits and the couple of good scenes.

It didn't really add anything to the first movie version, either, in terms of themes or anything. All it really did differently was write in that stupid general character and basically do a longer, more involved recreation of that scene where the crazy king in Return of the King eats meat while sending his men off to die in a pointless mission.

I also hated the score. Bb Db (low) F!!!! Bb Db F!!! BWAAAAPPPPP. Same damn thing over and over again, and done with one of those ultra-modern Inception-style electronic noises. Very jarring and off-putting. And almost the whole score stuck to variations on the same three note pattern!!! Oh, now it's emotional sad time! Bb D Eb!!!! Bb D Eb!!!!

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

John Wick Chapter 4

On the subject of action and John Wick... chapter 4 is awesome.

It does carry the burden of resetting itself after Parabellum while simultaneously setting up its own arc for the first hour, but once it gets going, it doesn't stop until the end. For an action movie, clocking at 2 and a half hours is frankly ludicrous and obscene, but John Wick 4 keeps you on the edge of your seat and that final hour is one of the most gloriously filmed action sequences I've seen in recent memory.

Much of the fun is seeing Keanu Reeves selling the pain in all the carnage, but also surrounded by a stellar bulletproof ensemble cast. Everyone is great; Scott Adkins is a riot, and Rina Sawayma, despite her debut, becomes a standout, but the show stealer is Donnie Yen, who is phenomenal and just oozes of charisma.

You'd think these movies would get old by now, but John Wick 4 is still fantastic and ends on a strong high note.