The thread for movies that aren't going to get their own thread but are still in theaters

Finally got around to seeing Terminator: Dark Fate. It was fun, but kinda meh storywise. It was great seeing Linda Hamilton back as Sarah Connor and I liked the new terminator & protector, but I think the movie really missed out on setting up a theme to continue the series.

Spoiler:

I liked tossing out the sequels (I never even watched Genisys) and saying T2 ended any possibility of Skynet happening. I was cool with Legion happening instead and Dani being the new John. The T-800's reasoning for becoming a good guy was ludicrously thin, particularly that it had no orders for what to do after John Connor was dead (it should have at least had orders to ensure Skynet gets created).

What I'd like to have seen was changing the main theme from being John Connor vs The Machines to Humanity vs The Machines. Particularly I was hoping to get some recognition or even celebration of the human spirit of defiance; that it doesn't matter what form Judgement Day took, there would always be a resistance and they would always eventually win against the machines. I feel like they could have easily tied the other Terminators Sarah hunted down into that theme by having Carl reveal or even just assume that they were from alternate futures and targeting whomever took John's place as that future's savior. By stopping them she had been preventing other iterations of Judgement Day and instead of Sarah realizing that Dani was the new John, she'd realize that Dani was the latest in a long line of Johns she had been unwittingly saving by killing the Terminators as soon as they got there. That'd let her realize that her life had a heck of a lot more meaningful that just killing Terminators as revenge. As it was those Terminators were just a giant plot hole as they never gave any indication of who they were sent to kill or why there wasn't also a protector sent back to stop them. It'd also help make Carl's defection a bit more logical as he'd have seen over the years that killing John didn't actually prevent the humans from defeating Skynet (or Legion or any other AI that tries to kill off humanity), it only changed who led the army that defeated it.

Your spoiler is a very cool idea, but that's a lot of backstory to cover in an action movie that has to introduce a bunch of new characters, bust Dani out of peril, show all the cool stuff Grace and Gabriel can do, show Granny Sarah kicking ass, show Dani kicking ass, and include a big car chase, a big airplane chase, and explode a whole bunch of random objects for no reason.

True, but it'd be better than the backstory they had in there instead. Their plan was to have it kick off a new trilogy. Instead it drove the final nail in the franchise's coffin due to how little money it made.

Genisys wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. I somewhat enjoyed the take on it even though it was bananas. Felt ok to fine with the new one but nothing that felt new. I of course enjoyed the change in gender focus but still nothing really new. Caveat it's been a year since i saw it and I basically only remember some faces and a grenade launcher from both movies.

Baron Of Hell wrote:

Jiu Jitsu was one of the worse movies I ever seen. The acting was horrible. The fight scenes were terrible even with having some of the best movie fighters. They kept changing the camera work for no reason. This scene is in first person, next scene is behind back then it goes to a more normal shot. It was so jarring.

If they just nailed the fights it could have been a fun wacky movie but they didn't. There is nothing good about this movie. Can't even give it a so bad it is good.

Not even Cage's hair is so bad it's good?

Ended up watching Peninsula, which takes place in the same universe of Train to Busan (zombie film) but 4-5 years later. Was expecting it to be terrible based on the reviews but I actually ended up liking it. The vibe of it reminded me a lot of Escape from NY. The main character needs to get in/out of a dangerous city in a set amount of time and comes across some zany characters while doing so. There's also a mix of Fast and the Furious in there with some outrageous car chase sequences. And a bit of Mad Max thrown in for flavor.

Its no where as good as Busan but I had fun watching it. The main character isn't so personable, he should have channeled some Snake Plissken, but the world is littered with a bunch of colorful characters which I did enjoy - particularly a family that has been surviving in the city since the outbreak began.

There are a lot of crazy car chases in the film with some questionable CG and car physics. But to me it added to the charm. They're not taken seriously and they play off that. The zombie threat actually seems to be a bit of an afterthought but still love the Busan zombies and how they can pile up and overflow in a split second. Or how they just throw themselves at people face first hoping to snag a bite.

Was surprised when I saw this was on Hoopla for free. I knew it was coming to Shudder at some point and was kinda funny to see the "Shudder" logo play before it but got an early viewing of it.

If you go in expending a mediocre "sequel" I think you'll be surprised that its a fun competent movie. Can put that quote on the back of the box.

A lot of people will not enjoy the genre mashup (WWII + monster movie) that Shadow in the Cloud is, especially given one of its writers, but if you'd enjoy a one part bonkers one part tour-de-force performance from the always good Chloë Grace Moretz, it's one to check out.

That looks fun, Kurrelgyre, thanks for pointing it out.

Damn I enjoyed Tenet....That is all.

I'm sorry but your opinion does not agree with that of the internet hive mind. Please report in for reprogramming. I enjoyed Tenet very much when I saw it on a large format screen, but since then I have been re-educated and I now realize that it is the worst film ever produced by Christopher Nolan, or indeed, by any director.

Seriously, though I am *still* rewatching Tenet and having my brain twisted by the timey wimey stuff. The behind the scenes stuff about how they filmed stunts and whole shots full of stunt performer extras both forward and backward... just nuts.

Yeah I am in the multiple rewatch phase. It's a blast of a movie. I would have loved to see it bug screen. Hope for another showing post covid. The timelines folks out together are helpful.

I enjoyed it, but I had the rare privilege to safely see it in a theatre. Not sure how much that skewed my perceptions.

It really is made for a giant well calibrated screen with a massive Atmos speaker system.

The final act in particular suffers a lot on the small screen. The scale is much better conveyed on a large format screen.

I imagine 2022 & 23 will be a whole lot of replays in theatres.
Beware Tenet timeline below
IMAGE(https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/avzEEVO_700bwp.webp)

Spoiler:

IMAGE(https://i.redd.it/mbbte0s4cpj51.png)

Watched Iron Sky not to be confused with Iron Sky The Coming Race which is the second movie. Movie is pretty dumb, makes little sense, but is kind of fun. It is a movie about space nazis that have been living on the dark side of the moon. So it is the space level of Wolfenstein made into a movie.

Mainly a comedy. They have Sarah Palin as president which they probably went with because it was so unlikely at the time. If they only knew what we would get in the future. They also had a black guy in white face. The logic for this was dumb. Just a wacky movie all around.

While I didn't like Iron Sky as much as I thought I would, the UN laughing at North Korea claiming responsibility for the space dirigibles was pretty funny.

BadKen wrote:

It really is made for a giant well calibrated screen with a massive Atmos speaker system.

The final act in particular suffers a lot on the small screen. The scale is much better conveyed on a large format screen.

Are you saying this because you saw it in theaters...

DSGamer wrote:
BadKen wrote:

It really is made for a giant well calibrated screen with a massive Atmos speaker system.

The final act in particular suffers a lot on the small screen. The scale is much better conveyed on a large format screen.

Are you saying this because you saw it in theaters...

I agree with him seeing it only at home. I have a decent setup and even then the scale of what they show would be mind blowing on a IMAX screen as they intended folks to see it. Me and some friends were thinking about renting the theater out just for us and this movie when that was an option but waited too long and they shut down completely for the lockup.

That Tenet graph helps a ton. It answered some speculation and questions I had.

Still that graph is unreadable aside from in small segments.

Spoiler:

I think it would help to do each main character's timeline in sequence rather than historical I guess is the best term I can use for it. Or perhaps their chronological reality rather than the world's chronological reality.

I guess the graph confirms that Pattinson's character goes further back in time after saving the protagonist in the mine to die in the mine. I don't recall seeing what the benefit of this was other than to show someone dead on the floor with the same object hanging out of the backpack that Pattinson had when he entered the mine to save the protagonist

It is a great movie but way harder to follow than Inception.

DSGamer wrote:
BadKen wrote:

It really is made for a giant well calibrated screen with a massive Atmos speaker system.

The final act in particular suffers a lot on the small screen. The scale is much better conveyed on a large format screen.

Are you saying this because you saw it in theaters...

Yeah I ventured out during the pandemic to watch it on a large format screen. The only movie I watched in a theater last year. The theater had reconfigured their HVAC to provide more fresh air circulation. They were also selling only about 10% of their seats to distance people. I wasn’t too concerned because there were only three or four others in the theater and we were very spread out.

The set pieces in TENET are quite a spectacle in a large format ATMOS theater.

BadKen wrote:
DSGamer wrote:
BadKen wrote:

It really is made for a giant well calibrated screen with a massive Atmos speaker system.

The final act in particular suffers a lot on the small screen. The scale is much better conveyed on a large format screen.

Are you saying this because you saw it in theaters...

Yeah I ventured out during the pandemic to watch it on a large format screen. The theater had reconfigured their HVAC to provide more fresh air circulation. They were also selling only about 1/4 of their seats to distance people. I wasn’t too concerned because there were only three or four others in the theater and we were very spread out.

The set pieces in TENET are quite a spectacle in a large format ATMOS theater.

I think this is a weird flex if I'm being honest. To say everyone else is seeing the movie wrong when going out to theaters and restaurants risked helping spread Covid.

I'll see it on my awful 50" 4k TV with pseudo-Atmos provided by my HomePods and hope for the best. It's not time to go to theaters yet.

I’m not bragging, and I’m not telling anyone they’re setting it wrong. All I’m saying is that I’ve seen it both ways, and Chris Nolan wasn’t just talking out his ass when he said it was made for theater viewing. I find TENET to be an outstanding film, and yeah, the set pieces lose some impact on a home theater. The movie is still thrilling. It isn’t only set pieces, after all.

I resent the assertion that I was irresponsibly risking spreading COVID. I have several risk factors myself, so I am very cautious. I vetted the theater before going, and when I arrived I made sure the place wasn’t crowded.

It was the only movie I watched in a theater last year. Usually I see two or three movies a month.

And I don’t know where you got the restaurant thing. I don’t eat out.

Other people going to restaurants. Meaning I don’t think either restaurants or theaters should ever have been open during the pandemic and I haven’t been to either because any indoor time with other people increases the risk of spreading Covid.

I get it. I used to see 1 to 2 movies per week in the theater. I miss it dearly. But I don’t think it’s a responsible thing to do. Sorry.

I don’t care if it’s designed for big screen with Atmos. That’s not the hand we were dealt this year. Most of us are going to see this on TVs. I wish they’d release it on drive-ins. It’s also the only place Nolan’s ego would fit.

DSGamer wrote:

Other people going to restaurants. Meaning I don’t think either restaurants or theaters should ever have been open during the pandemic and I haven’t been to either because any indoor time with other people increases the risk of spreading Covid.

I get it. I used to see 1 to 2 movies per week in the theater. I miss it dearly. But I don’t think it’s a responsible thing to do. Sorry.

I don’t care if it’s designed for big screen with Atmos. That’s not the hand we were dealt this year. Most of us are going to see this on TVs. I wish they’d release it on drive-ins. It’s also the only place Nolan’s ego would fit.

And you're the arbiter of all that is right for everyone in the world... *eyeroll*

I know you've been in other threads where we were reminded to not think the worst of what people are posting. This is not the way...

At this point in time there’s a context to saying the best way to see a movie is in the theater. You can’t escape that fact. Sorry.

And there’s a context to releasing a movie in the middle of a pandemic and expecting people to show up for it.

I’m not sure what your point is.

DSGamer wrote:

There’s a context to saying the best way to see a movie is in the theater right now. You can’t escape that fact. Sorry.

That is NOT what was said. It's apparently what you want to have been said. There's a difference. It even looks like you went fishing trying to find something to Female Doggo about. That's just not cool.

No point in arguing this further. I’m on edge about people flaunting common sense right now and talking about the movie being built for Atmos and a big screen really got to me. No point in belaboring the point, though.

Take care everyone. Be safe.

Watched Possessor Uncut which was interesting. Can't say I liked it or hated it. Lots of blood and few bad sex scenes. Story is about assassins that can highjack a person and use their body to kill people. These feat isn't without cost. We follow one assassins on her kills and the problems she has.

I think I got the movie but I'm not sure.

Violence

Spoiler:

There are some super violent scenes in this movies. Eyes are taken out. Teeth are pulled out with knives, Heads are bashed in. Stabbings given out like Christmas presents. Was there a purpose to this violence. I believe so. The "protagonist" mind is kind of breaking down. I believe the hate is bleeding over from the people she highjacked. At one point she explodes on someone verbally but it is clear it is highjacked person talking not her.

When it comes time to kill the dude she doesn't just kill him she destroys him and murders his daughter. So the rage was from the body but the skill to kill was her. The odd thing was that there was no reason to kill the daughter. The highjacked dude liked her and the assassin had no reason to kill her. It doesn't matter that the daughter saw her father getting killed because after the hit the highjacked body is killed off by assassin in what looks like a suicide. The reason I can see for her murder is maybe the assassin was in a murder frenzy. Or maybe they just wanted more blood for the blood god.

Ending

Spoiler:

The highjacked dude ends up taking over the assassin or maybe it is better to say he took back control of his body and gain access to the assassin's memories. He goes to her house where he threatens to kill her husband if she doesn't come out. A battle of wills take place. He comes out on top and kills the husband. Plot twist her son comes out and stabs the highjacked dude in the neck given a good impression of Chucky. Plot twist this brings the assassin back on top and she guns down her kid. Say what? She kills her own kid. yep. While dying on the floor she asked for a exit so she can go back to her own body. Plot twist while the kid is dying on the floor he also ask for a exit. So the kid was being highjacked by another assassin.

So this is what I believe happen. The league of assassins sent another assassin to take out the first assassin that lost control of her highjacked body. The only bad point here is there is no way they could have know the highjacked dude would go to the assassin's house. And why highjack the kid instead of the father.

Okay so why did the assassin off her kid without a second thought. Either the family wasn't her real family or she was so far gone she didn't remember or care about her family anymore. At first I thought it was because it wasn't her real family but both the husband and kid knew who she was when she was in her real body. Now I think the body stealing just broke her brain to the point of no return. They were hinting that her mind was breaking down throughout the movie.

I would have liked to see more of why the assassin group exists. I would have like more of explanation on what some jobs were . There was a job where people identified curtains. There was a really weird aspect to this but besides that I had no idea why that was a thing in this world. i don't really think there was a logical reason behind this. I think it was there just to be odd. I mean the job was odd. how the job was being done was meaningful to the movie.

Spoiler:

So here is how the job worked. You go and sit at a terminal and put on future VR glasses. The glasses let you enter people's home virtually. The guy would then checkout their curtains and note their characteristics. While he was doing this the people would go about their lives. We see a kid playing, a empty home, a couple having sex. This was kind of like another highjack except it was a highjack of a computer. Also I believe the people were aware that a guy was in their computer checking out their curtains but they didn't care.

Very odd and not played for laughs.

Yeah, there are loads of great timeline and reality guides out there for TENET and they do help watching. Honestly having one to ground yourself in a sequence is probably a great way to watch it a 2nd or 3rd time.

Watching this movie did get me very excited about Team Edward Batman

Not to poke the dead horse, but "I am disappoint" that the 4k home release of Tenet did not include an Atmos track (or even a DTS-X one). Kinda makes me wonder if Nolan is being a little more petty than I thought (re: theater/home viewing). I should say the DTS-HD track is glorious, but can be overpowering to the point of missing dialogue. Which, to be honest, is a trademark of Nolan's films.

Bane wrote:

Ah, yes, I was wondering what would break first. Your spirit, or your body hearing?