What movie are you viewing at the moment?

[Immy]

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Not being familiar with the Marvel comic series puts me at both an advantage and disadvantage when viewing these movies. On one hand it's good because the characters are all fresh and new and I'm seeing them in their most modern depictions. The disadvantage is not knowing their origins and backstory, though that's less of a concern with the Capt. Committing to the series (I've seen most) means trying to keep track of everyone along with their motives and abilities, as well as being introduced to new heroes and villains and hoping they're explained properly (fans sites help with this).

This latest chapter (they're best thought of that way, instead of stand-alone films) does fine on the spectacle and conflict but one aspect brought it down a few pegs IMO. The physical momentum depicted was entirely unbelieveable. I'll give a certain amount of leeway for a cartoon brought to life, but suspension of disbelief only goes so far, even for superheroes. Whatever vulnerabilites they had were ignored when it was convenient, and that's not kosher. Also, the swooping, diving camera shots got to be too much. Why do you need 150 cuts to shoot a fight sequence? It had its merits and overall it was worth watching but I liked part one better. 6/10

(Btw, in future discussions can we please not drop spoilers about post-credit scenes?)

[Pinkpapercut]

Originally Posted by Immy

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Also, the swooping, diving camera shots got to be too much. Why do you need 150 cuts to shoot a fight sequence?

I agree absolutely.

In recent years I've been getting the feeling that most action directors don't know how to direct action effectively so they string together visual cliches instead - since the Matrix movies most fight sequences are brainless emulations of old eastern martial arts movies with added slow-motion and/or frozen in-the-round sequences instead of judicious cutting and effective visual choreography that clearly narrates the fight.

There's also the problem of endless stuff crashing into stuff. Too many action and superhero movies are starting to resemble "Transformers" movies with endless undistinguished CGI metal-bashing replacing real action, not to say real drama.

The direction of these films is often the visual equivalent of the 80s music phenomenon of the "Coke Mix", when record producers would be so wired they would add more and more and more instruments and effects when laying down and mixing tracks, not noticing that they were burying the song, the groove, under a suffocating heap of distracting crap.

[victor meldrew]

Rampart

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1640548/

Probably not the greatest film ever made, but one I personally enjoyed..

[MaxJoker]

Am halfway through ,

This.



It`s not the type of film i`d usually watch.



But so far.



So engaging and decent enough

[tomesing]

It´s a mad, mad, mad, mad world




Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8AcGj4EmhQ


tomesing

[Immy]

Originally Posted by tomesing

It´s a mad, mad, mad, mad world




Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8AcGj4EmhQ


tomesing

Ohhh I've got a real soft spot for this movie. It's been a family favorite for decades. People tend to focus on whether the comedy is sustained for its mammoth duration and for the most part it does IMO, but I'm just as impressed at the sheer kinetic energy on display. One the best ensemble comedies of the 20th century.

[victor meldrew]

In The Line Of Fire

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107206/

[Pinkpapercut]

I've just watched a friend's DVD of "Ender's Game".

Not a bad film, just very average- it held my interest but in the end it was a bit "...meh!".

I was interested to see it having read Orson Scott Card's novel twenty or more years ago. This adaptation sounded quite faithful and so it proved to be, and I think that was the problem.

I don't want to give the plot away but the film stays true to its twists and keeps the protagonist very young. Andrew "Ender" Wiggin is a little boy in the book, and in the film he's played as a young teenager. As the film keeps the action mainly within the cohort of his fellow young recruits this had the unfortunate effect of making me feel like I was watching a film aimed at so-called "young adults" rather than a rare traditional science fiction film with a philosophical point to make.

The story is about the training of children to fight in a retaliatory war against a civilization of insectoid invaders - in this the book and the film can be seen as a riposte to "Starship Troopers", the Robert Heinlein novel from which the Paul Verhoeven film was adapted.

The problem is that both Ender and the viewer are not fully aware of what purpose of his training is, and when it is finally revealed one realises that the climax of the story has passed without one having realised it was the climax. If you've seen the film you'll know to what I'm referring.

This revelation is in the book too, where it works because one has time to savour the altered perspective, so perhaps this film can be seen as an example of what can go wrong when a film adaptation sticks too closely to the plot of a book rather than trying to capture its spirit instead.

The best example of how to capture the spirit of a classic science fiction novel while more or less junking its entire plot and even its title is probably "Blade Runner".

[tomesing]

Boys Town




Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoofjH022pU


tomesing

[victor meldrew]

I Will Fight No More Forever

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073138/

A TV movie from many moons ago, with a young looking Sam Elliott.

An enjoyable watch, just a pity about the poor picture quality.