Currently reading the novel for Bird Box and I am hooked. Hopefully the movie isn't too disappointing but the TNT pilot comment from Vader doesn't inspire much confidence.

Vader182 wrote: ↑

December 27th, 2018, 11:25 pm

if Bier injected that stuff with enough Lovecraftian weirdness, we'd take it at face value.

Sadly, Bird Box is directed like a pilot for TNT. Problem of direction not writing.


-Vader

I'm not overly interested in it. I'm mystified as to why such a superb low-key dramatic director would do this

Gravity.
Great visuals and overall a good movie.

xWhereAmI? wrote: ↑

December 27th, 2018, 6:07 pm

BIRD BOX

I dont get the hype? Everything in the house was pretty bad to barely average. Characters figure things out like almost instantly and have zero development. The exposition is all over the place at moments and comes in at random times. The "Monster" rules make no sense.

Why arent they indoors? When windows are uncovered the characters INSTANTLY see them but the monsters never go inside? When a character goes in a house they immediately take off their blindfolds like "ah indoors where the monsters cant be!"

Wish it would of stuck with her on the boat most of the movie with minimal flashbacks.

Havoc1st wrote: ↑

December 29th, 2018, 7:17 am

Gravity.
Great visuals and overall a good movie.

I'm not usually a grammar or spelling nazi, and I do make some typos myself from time to time, but I realy have to say, you misspelled the word "utter masterpiece".£

Bird Box was okay. Not nearly as bad as everyone is making it out to be, but the movie does take away a lot of the suspense that the novel had. Spoilers for novel to follow
okay that was a ramble. Let me know if you want me to clear things up.

Batman (1989)

I like Nicholson and the aesthetic of the film but the weak point is the romantic relationship of Vicky Vale with Bruce Wayne (the romance feels kinda forced, since these characters have no real chemistry outside of the script telling us that they seemingly do and it ultimately does not amount to much by the end of the film). While I think he does an OK Bruce Wayne overall, Keaton does not scream 'billionaire playboy' to me the way Christian Bale did in Nolan's films. The soundtrack's great and the writing is smart and funny on occasion but also kinda childish and silly at other points (Vicky's reporter friend is kinda dumb here). The Joker steals the show precisely because no other character is given enough leeway to be as interesting or maybe Nicholson is just in another league entirely in terms of acting skills than everybody else. Ultimately, the film's a product of its time but one that I can appreciate for what it does well (mood, music and set designs).

8/10

Edge of Tomorrow

Watched it again after not seeing it for a long while. Still a great sci fi/action film. Cruise and Blunt are awesome in this.

The last film I watched this year was Batman Returns (1992) by Tim Burton. I like a lot of things about this film: Michelle Pfeiffer's and Danny deVito's acting, Christopher Walken (though his character takes away time from both batman and the other villains), the score, the atmosphere, the set designs...it's the film's unfocused nature I have a problem with and that comes down to the writing and the pacing. The film's all over the place in terms of what it wants to do or be about. I get the feeling that Tim Burton had lots of ideas (I actually like the penguins at the end because it's just so bonkers and you just know that there are Batman comics with weird ideas like that out there so I respect Burton for going all out there with the craziness) but instead of picking one and exploring multiple facets, he decided to use all ideas at once, without exploring them in-depth. The characters also seem rather reactive and things randomly happen that then propel the plot into a different direction with little to no build-up or even follow-up (at one point batman is framed for something and nothing comes of it in the long-term, the Penguin wants to be mayor and that eventually goes nowhere, etc.). I enjoy the film and it is one of the better batman movies but it has some structural issues that keep me at a distance. Keaton is once more the weak link, partly because I don't think he's that good an actor in this but mainly because Burton seemingly has no idea as to what to do with Bruce Wayne/Batman as a character because he clearly is much more interested in the freaks and villains of the story, hence Keaton is not given the best material to work with for his character.

7.5/10

Stalker

If you loved Annihilation then give this a watch. Holy shit this film is amazing. Idk why I put off watching it for so long.

It's going to take a bit to let it all sink in but I loved it.