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FilmFincher

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  1. Free Guy and The Adam Project had some surprising little moments of well shot hand-to-hand combat that have been cropping up in blockbusters recently. They always have a stunt team pre-vis style to the movements and angles. I think after John Wick, stunt teams are getting more control and time over some of the action pieces. So I'm sure Deadpool III will carry that forwards.
  2. My favourite part is the force with how the sticks snap in Ethans mouth during the electric shock. It really sells how brutal it is. My favourite scene is the building jump, the actual pendulum swing in the middle is so-so because it gets too green screeny, but the build up is stellar, Giacchino's music especially, and then the slide after. The clip is missing the great establishing shot as well where it starts as wide of the city and comes right into Cruise's face.
  3. MI1 is a film I appreciate more and more because we're never getting another one like it. I cherish all the De Palma-isms and the Langley heist is iconic. I think people forget that the bulk of MI2's runtime is Thandiwe Newton being undercover with Dougray Scott and Ethan pining from a distance. It's a real slog, only becoming a great John Woo action film in the last half hour. MI3 was like an adrenaline shot to the heart after that. Absolutely non stop and hyperactive in all the right ways. I want JJ to make another blockbuster so bad, don't tell anyone. Ghost Protocol was always my favourite. Brad Bird is just so playful with the set pieces, he's such an adept visual storyteller and I love a dysfunctional team coming together. Very lacking in the villain department though. Rogue Nation might have the best story of the lot and Ilsa is the best addition to the franchise. Like others have said the Opera set piece is perfect. Simon Pegg really came to play as well, good showing for Benji. Fallout has some truly unbelievable action, the bathroom fight and the entire Paris section are just all timers. It's just a little too melancholy for my tastes (4+5 had the perfect tone). I could easily have 3-6 just running on rotation, the consistency in quality for this franchise is insane.
  4. I unfortunately found this to be somewhat dull. It's missing a sense of whimsy and playfulness that the Spielberg entries had, whether that be with the action, the exposition or the characters (With Helena maybe being the sole exception). Way too much green screen and it's far too long for an Indy film, this thing should have momentum. I like it all on paper but outside of a few stretches Mangold never brings it to life, keeping it firmly as someone's idea of an Indiana Jones film rather than an actual one. All that being said it's way better than recent adventure films like Uncharted and Jungle Cruise but that's just representative of the poor state the genre has been in.
  5. That's the one I ended up going with. Managed to get seats in basically the same place as the The Dark Knight Rises screening this past weekend.
  6. John Wick might be the most recent notable one in terms of iconography and box office pull. But yeah not much in terms of female representation, a lot are tied to IP's and adaptations or didn't take off unfortunately.
  7. Sometimes all this IP based storytelling can be a little tiring and exhausting, especially when the results are middling and it’s all the audience comes out to see. I was on an absolute high walking out of this. These Spider-Verse films are a breath of fresh air. Like the first couple of Raimi’s you can feel the passion, the honesty and artistic integrity in every frame. There’s a wild energy of “We can do absolutely anything so lets do it”. The careful dance of humour, drama, romance, meta elements and action. It never loses sight of the beating heart at the centre of it and sets out to interrogate something deeper about the character of Spider-Man.
  8. Have been busy so haven’t shared what I’ve been watching in a while but wanted to give a shout out to some absolute bangers. Across the Spider-Verse - A fantastic reminder of just how inventive and creative IP storytelling can be. After Yang - I expected this to be colder and more idiosyncratic, what I got was a tender film about loss and love that had me on the verge of tears for the entire second half. Paths of Glory - I’m about to hit the Kubrick series on Blank Check so squeezing in the ones I haven’t seen. This was one of the best war films I’ve seen. While Kirk Douglas does command the screen it was the supporting cast of soldiers that I found truly magnetic. How to Blow Up a Pipeline - A taut thriller that’s basically a heist film. Shot in a quick and dirty style on 16MM. Definitely used the score from Tenet as temp music but it absolutely rips. Lean and mean. The Insider - This is Mann, Pacino and Crowe firing on all cylinders. It’s the perfect in-between of the traditionally cinematic Mann and the feverish handheld energy of his later work. Hero - Simultaneously beautiful, epic and intimate. Jaw dropping cinematography and inspired use of colour. It’s a film continues to unravel new depths at every turn. Plus the action is top notch. Station Eleven - This is my favourite TV show in years. A real successor to the work that was done on LOST and The Leftovers. The structure of the story and the way it was told was just delightful and endlessly clever but what really excels is the human core at the centre of it. It’s a show about flawed people longing for and being afraid of connection with each other. I also didn’t think I could be more in love with Mackenzie Davis but turns out I was wrong. I felt every range of emotion that could possible be felt watching this and it’s an experience that will stay with me.
  9. It all depends on the transfer, there's lots of things at play for both digital and film. There are older/newer films that have had fantastic blu-ray transfers and a fair amount of poor ones, the same goes for the 4K. Though generally it's an opportunity to 'get it right' this time around for the 4K release. Scream, Top Gun, A Few Good Men, 2001 have had huge improvements with their 4K. You also have cases where people have fudged it up. The Terminator 2 4K and new Blu-Ray transfer is filled with huge amounts of digital noise reduction making everyone look smooth faced and you have a whole new colour grade not authentic to the original release. Review sites and forums are your friend. Bluray.com/Hidefdigest etc.. I like to go to the specific 4K or Blu-Ray thread for a film and find the page dated around the films physical release to get people's general opinion on somewhere like bluray.com as well. Often they're more informed than the reviewer for the site.
  10. I would have loved too, just to show some love for Aster and pure curiosity on what's making people have such vitriolic reactions But my local isn't showing Beau or Margaret so it's looking like a Fast and Furious weekend for me 😅 Let us know how Beau goes down!
  11. I also like Robbie even though I disagree with him often, I get a kick out of the way he expresses himself sometimes. I'll take him any day over the 'I cried when the thing from the old thing happened' type of reviewer that's so prevalent these days.
  12. I’ll be the first to gush about MI but I was also a little whelmed by the visuals. I think it’s more to do with the flatter grade, everything looks a bit more lifeless despite McQuarrie going for some bolder and zanier shot choices. Feels like we lost something in the switch to entirely digital photography. Maverick pulled it out of the bag so hopefully this can get there. The CG environmental stuff swallowing up the practical effects has been happening, the HALO jump, the underwater breath hold, the helicopter crash. Mission isn’t stranger to it but it’s always a shame when they put so much effort in doing a lot of practical work. All that being said, it looks awesome and it’ll be better than 90% of the blockbuster films we get these days. As long as this one can go toe to toe with Fallout with the action I’ll be more than happy. Some comparisons of the train crash which now has extra CG elements (and even full replacements) compared to the teaser.
  13. Seems like it could easily be a Neill Blomkamp movie but I've missed Edwards, the man has what it takes to make a grand movie. The blocking and tension in Godzilla 2014 is top notch. This looks visually stunning, it's in that super wide aspect aspect ratio as well which I don't think I've seen used in something prominent since like Hateful Eight. It's a nice retort to most other films going taller.
  14. Man, they let slip on The Dead Meat podcast they were preparing to shoot something really soon (so the delay for Scream VII might not be humongous) and it would be "a new take on an old thing", I said to my brother I bet it's a Universal monster movie. Glad to have it confirmed!
  15. I'm also not too keen on the digital sheen and the amount of CGI but lets see how it goes. That de-aging looks like a genuine magic trick, just wow. The uncompressed version looks 10x better, and if my eyes don't deceive me there's a fine layer of film grain been added, not too dissimilar to the amount in Top Gun: Maverick which really went a long way making the image feel more natural. https://files.muffinworld.net/share/bhtP3zdT
  16. Is it basically Guardians of the Galaxy? Absolutely! But when it works this well, I’m not complaining. It’s got just enough heart, a boatload of laugh out loud gags, and a cast that’s absolutely game for all of it. There’s a generous helping of practical effects (so many delicious creatures) and location shooting in this film, at least as much as you can get out of a blockbuster of this ilk. You do have to put up with the usual mushy CGI but the ratio is so much better here. The action was also well choreographed and shot (and that’s coming off the back of John Wick 4). Some lovely long takes. Anyone who’s seen Game Night knows how slick, fun and playful these directors are, they truly elevate this film and made it better than it has any right to be. Everything about it was such a delightful surprise.
  17. Look it’s John Wick, you get a pretty thin plot, a cool ass world, stunning neon-lit cinematography, a sound mix that’s not afraid to kick you in the face and some of the best action choreography coming out of western cinema. That’s the base standard for the franchise. This has the best supporting cast of the films, but Donnie Yen is the MVP. His relationship with John really gives Chapter 4 a much needed layer of emotional depth, as well as the level of action he brings to the film. The Berlin section in the middle is weak, it’s redundant and the action was hit or miss, jettison it. Scott Adkins is having a ball in his role though and I’ve been waiting for Hollywood to take advantage of how funny and charming he is. The final section in Paris is nothing short of thrilling, it’s one mind blowing set peice after another, featuring some all timers of action cinema. The stunt work deserves a round of applause and is worth the price of admission alone.
  18. I'm pretty sure Stahelski said prior to shooting his team would be involved in the action sequences to make sure that it was up to the 'John Wick' standard, while still letting Wiseman put his own touches on it.
  19. This was fine, totally serviceable, nothing egregiously bad, super generic and predictable, does what it says on the tin. Kind of like a Thor 2 or Ant Man & the Wasp, I will forget every detail of this film within a week. I think people are just finally expecting more from their blockbusters now, which will hopefully raise the quality of everything else. Djimon Hounsou was an absolute riot though, loved him in this.
  20. Just to concur with what people said I thought this was a very solid show all things considered. It was a little dry and straightforward but there was a reverence for the films and everyone's speeches were pretty great, I got pretty emotional with some of them. Did I throw by arms up in frustration at All Quiet's below the line wins, absolutely! Did some people get played off too early, definitely! But that's the oscars. It probably helped the UK broadcast had none of these sponsored/promo segments that everyone was subjected to and just went to ad breaks.
  21. I've got 1 > 4 > 2 > 6 > 5 > 3 4 was ahead of it's time, before legacy sequels were even hitting their stride it turns the idea of passing the film down to a fresh cast completely on its head. It's biggest detriment is the visuals.
  22. This was heaps of fun. A proper roller coaster thrill ride. A mix of fresh things that made me giggle with giddy excitement but also elements that are tired and repetitive. Good Huge improvements on characterisation. I’m in love with all of them, they really made you care, I was so invested. Better directed, set pieces are bigger, more exciting and playful. FANTASTIC opening Brutal kills Great Ghostface moments Bad Hayden was snoozing her way through this film Weak/broad commentary. How much left is there to really say? Definitely 2nd worst killer(s) behind Roman. Too much homage, feels like we’re seeing a repeat of the past with a fresh coat of paint. Again though it’s a real fun time at the movies and the strength of the characters and the set-pieces really carry you through the weaker aspects. I think I enjoyed it more than the last one even though it had less to say. It's kind of incredible the consistency in quality this series is able to maintain. PS. Jenna Ortega and Samara Weaving are stars, they’re so magnetic.
  23. I can't remember where he said it (might be the multiple 3+ hour spoiler specials for Empire now behind a paywall) but McQ talked about screening a shorter cut of Fallout compared to the final one, and it felt longer to the audience because the film had no breathing room and they sacrificed pace/rhythm for a shorter run time. And with the final cut no complaints. I think McQ and Hamilton are super intuitive so I trust them to deliver the best possible version.
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