The Movie Thread.

[Tawmis]

Anyway, never been much of an action film fan and never much liked super hero stuff either. Hope we can move on to the next fad soon.

While you don't enjoy it, what about those that do? Why wish to move on to the next fad and ruin it for those who have finally waited this long for super hero movies to be done right?

[DeadPoolX]

Anyway, never been much of an action film fan and never much liked super hero stuff either. Hope we can move on to the next fad soon.

While you don't enjoy it, what about those that do? Why wish to move on to the next fad and ruin it for those who have finally waited this long for super hero movies to be done right?

Admittedly, the superhero genre has become somewhat oversaturated. We've been running on a steady diet of superhero movies since at least 2008 (longer if you include the original Spider-Man and X-Men films before the MCU was created).

Don't get me wrong, I like superheros, but it does seem like the only way your film shows up in movie theaters nowadays is if it's a superhero movie or at minimum, some sort of big-budget blockbuster. You never see dramas, thrillers, or mysteries anymore. Granted, this is probably because you can potentially do a better job (in these genres) with a mini-series on a streaming platform, but some people still miss movies in those areas.

[Tawmis]

Anyway, never been much of an action film fan and never much liked super hero stuff either. Hope we can move on to the next fad soon.

While you don't enjoy it, what about those that do? Why wish to move on to the next fad and ruin it for those who have finally waited this long for super hero movies to be done right?

Admittedly, the superhero genre has become somewhat oversaturated. We've been running on a steady diet of superhero movies since at least 2008 (longer if you include the original Spider-Man and X-Men films before the MCU was created).
Don't get me wrong, I like superheros, but it does seem like the only way your film shows up in movie theaters nowadays is if it's a superhero movie or at minimum, some sort of big-budget blockbuster. You never see dramas, thrillers, or mysteries anymore. Granted, this is probably because you can potentially do a better job (in these genres) with a mini-series on a streaming platform, but some people still miss movies in those areas.

So this is why I say "waited this long for super hero movies done right" - I, personally, think "done right" (in my opinion) - went from Blade, and waited until Iron Man 1. The X-Men movies? Trash. All of them. Trash. 99% of the DC movies, trash. MCU finally got it right - and even they had some trash (Iron Man 3, for example - pure trash).

As for thrillers, there's been a few that have come out - but most almost always head straight to Netflix or HBO Max because of the Pandemic.

They can't afford (like the Mouse House) to try and risk people going to a theater (although look at the train wreck that Black Widow caused between the Mouse House and Scarlett).

There's been a number of thrillers I've watched (or seen previews for) that have caught my interest.

[DeadPoolX]

I actually liked Iron Man 3. I think some people had issues with it because it was more about Tony Stark as a person and dealing with his PTSD than pure action and cool CGI. I'm glad they showed that. Stark was the only one who had at least a somewhat realistic reaction to the attack on New York in The Avengers. Everyone else was just too "unflappable" I guess, but that's hardly relatable.

As for thrillers going straight to streaming services because of the pandemic, yeah... right now they are, but the superhero craze started LONG before the pandemic.

[Tawmis]

I actually liked Iron Man 3. I think some people had issues with it because it was more about Tony Stark as a person and dealing with his PTSD than pure action and cool CGI. I'm glad they showed that. Stark was the only one who had at least a somewhat realistic reaction to the attack on New York in The Avengers. Everyone else was just too "unflappable" I guess, but that's hardly relatable.

Cool idea. Just needed to be trimmed down. A lot.
Should have called it "Tony Stark" not Iron Man at that point.

As for thrillers going straight to streaming services because of the pandemic, yeah... right now they are, but the superhero craze started LONG before the pandemic.

Pre-pandemic thrillers/non super hero movies that I thought were great that came out in 2019...

Knives Out
Parasite
Doctor Sleep
John Wick 3
Fast & Furious: Hobbes & Shaw
Us
6 Underground
Anna (a bit weird)
Ma (super creepy woman)
Dark Waters
Angel Has Fallen
Rambo: Last Blood
The Lodge (meh, was OK)
Annabelle Comes Home


14 movies in 2019. Non Super Hero.

[Rath Darkblade]

You never see dramas, thrillers, or mysteries anymore. Granted, this is probably because you can potentially do a better job (in these genres) with a mini-series on a streaming platform, but some people still miss movies in those areas.

What about Murder on the Orient Express? Or the upcoming Death on the Nile?

Sure, David Suchet is a much better Poirot than Kenneth Branagh ... and Branagh takes many, many, many unwarranted liberties with the text, which makes his movies bland and overlong ... and he has a horrible habit of wasting talented casts in his movies ... but the movies still exist.

Still, when it comes to mysteries, I'd definitely recommend the David Suchet versions. They are much tighter and more focused, and therefore much more fun.

[Tawmis]

Death on the Nile?

This looks good.

[DeadPoolX]

Pre-pandemic thrillers/non super hero movies that I thought were great that came out in 2019...

Knives Out
Parasite
Doctor Sleep
John Wick 3
Fast & Furious: Hobbes & Shaw
Us
6 Underground
Anna (a bit weird)
Ma (super creepy woman)
Dark Waters
Angel Has Fallen
Rambo: Last Blood
The Lodge (meh, was OK)
Annabelle Comes Home


14 movies in 2019. Non Super Hero.

You and I have very different tastes in film. Out of all of those films, the best ones were Doctor Sleep and The Lodge. The rest were either disappointing (like Knives Out), ridiculous action nonsense (John Wick 3, Fast and the Furious) or just not interesting to me.

Maia and I really liked The Lodge because it was a true psychological horror movie. It didn't rely on cheap jump scares or unnecessary gore or depravity.

Murder on the Orient Express with Kenneth Branagh was awful. The entire film was basically Branagh grandstanding. I wanted to watch a mystery movie, not some asshole's ego trip.

[Tawmis]

You and I have very different tastes in film.

This, sir, does not surprise me!

Out of all of those films, the best ones were Doctor Sleep and The Lodge. The rest were either disappointing (like Knives Out), ridiculous action nonsense (John Wick 3, Fast and the Furious) or just not interesting to me.

I thought Knives Out was a fun movie. It was like CLUE, with a serious(er) tone.
As for John Wick and Fast Furious, those are my brainless movies. Just like any ALIENS or RAMBO movie. I go in, completely suspending belief in physics and probability.
Those are the movies I go see to take my mind off reality - because they're so far out there. (Fast 9, however, went too far out there... literally... )

I was just saying there were quite a few movies that came out in 2019 (around Pandemic time) that were not Super Hero movies, that I could think of.

Heck, probably just look at whatever the award show is for movies - and see a laundry list of movies that were not super hero related, because Super Hero movies never seem to win any awards.

[Rath Darkblade]

Death on the Nile?

This looks good.

Hmm. Have you read the book, Tawm? Or watched either of the other "Death on the Nile" adaptations?

The 70s one, with Peter Ustinov as Poirot, is also very start-studded. Here is Ustinov as Poirot, meeting his old friend Colonel Race. And here's another scene from the same movie, with Bette Davis (as the aristocratic Mrs van Schuyler) and Maggie Smith (as her companion, Miss Bowers) quarrelling. Fun stuff. Ustinov is a great actor, but mind you, I think he overplayed his hand as Poirot and made him much fatter than he should be. Still - any movie with so many great actors and actresses is worth watching. Bette Davis, David Niven, Ustinov, Angela Lansbury, Mia Farrow, Maggie Smith etc... mm-mmm...

Still, I think David Suchet is the perfect Poirot. Here he is with the beautiful Emily Blunt as Linnet Doyle nee Ridgeway, the beautiful heiress who "seduces" her best friend's boyfriend, Simon Doyle, unaware that her best friend is playing a dangerous game. And in this other scene (together from Frances de la Tour from the Harry Potter films), Emily makes an entrance with Simon (J J Field).

Kenneth Branagh is a good actor, but as a director he rarely gets the best out of his fellow actors. I also find his Poirot to be hammy and overdone. Suchet is much better: he knows when to talk and when to listen. And as a detective, there is so much to listen to -- people will talk to each other, and you can hear them betray themselves. It's like Laura Bow at the Egyptian museum!

[Tawmis]

Death on the Nile?

This looks good.

Hmm. Have you read the book, Tawm? Or watched either of the other "Death on the Nile" adaptations?

Nope to the books and as far as I know, nope to the other movies.

Definitely not my style of book reading I enjoy; but movies of that nature, I enjoy.

[Rath Darkblade]

Fair enough. If you enjoy such movies, I think you might enjoy either the Peter Ustinov film or the David Suchet film (though I definitely recommend the Suchet film; all the actors put a lot of effort in, and it shows).

I have both films on DVD, but I've seen them both mentioned on YouTube too.

[BBP]

Finally broke the movie curse with not 1, but 2 movies I saw for the first time and enjoyed:
Zappa - The Alex Winter documentary. I didn't have the means to support the crowd funding, so I hadn't seen this Most Important Zappa Release in the Past Five Years yet. With the death of Zappa's widow, Gail, the family had to get rid of the family home, including Frank's home studio (The Utility Muffin Research Kitchen) and the vault - a collection of just about everything he did, original masters, concerts recordings, jam sessions with a mouth-watering collection of musical heroes - ran the risk of getting lost, destroyed due to the vulnerability of magnetic tapes, getting split up or sold, or worse. Alex Winter had full access to the vaults so that it could be saved. And it works.
Mind you it is a bit of a shock seeing some of his aged co-workers, seeing a shaking octogenarian Bruce Bickford in his wheelchair fiddling with his clay... brought tears to my eyes at point and learnt things about FZ.

And the other one was Some Like It Hot - always a treat to see an old comedy that has survived its age.

[Tawmis]

Just read that Mel Gibson will be directing LETHAL WEAPON 5! And he and Danny are returning! I am stoked for this!

[Tawmis]

Also - SHANG CHI was a freaking amazing movie! Watch that this past weekend at home on Disney+.