Went to New York and caught The Hidden Fortress at the Film Forum and I loved the shit out of that. Abbott-3PO and R2-Costello Meet Mifune (and/or Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Droids) is pretty much a perfect recipe for me. Didn't hurt to have a really great crowd that was laughing with and never at the movie, which can be a problem sometimes with older movies, tbh.
Fantastic Four: First Steps - 8.5/10 One of the better recent Marvel movies. Totally stand-alone and not connected to the others. A good family movie and not as focused on action. I’m going to be a father in November, so it was pretty emotional for me.
I rewatched one of @Long Century's favorite movies today. It is still every bit as vital as ever; the long tracking shots, the appeals to a greater humanity, the audacity of reducing the entirety of the mighty historic British Empire to having to hope a poor Black immigrant can save you. Cuaron has made many great movies but it is hard to imagine him ever being better than he is here. There are a couple of great small moments when Theo is brought back to the headquarters after Julianne Moore's character is killed. The dogs seem to adore him, even though they say the dogs never like anyone. Even during the huge meeting in the dining room, the cat claws at Theo's leg, despite seemingly being surrounded by his owners and caretakers. This helps to establish Theo's paternal affection, even if he himself doesn't know it. Something I never noticed, though, is that when Theo and the women are trying to escape, the dogs are called to attack him, but when they finish their running and barking at him and catch up, they just keep going. It is if nature itself realizes the hope instilled in getting Kee to the Human Project, even if the infighting suggests they never will.
Clive Owen should be a major actor. He is always one of the most magnetic parts of anything he is in.
first time I saw it, I sat in my seat for a few moments after the credits rolled, completely blown away by what I had just witnessed I've never had that experience with any other film
It's so sincere in maybe the most cynical decade ever. This was the height of Bush fatigue and pretty much everyone was starting to realize how futile the conflict was but Cuarpn shows both sides frozen in awe when they see the first baby in decades, but even that doesn't last as the bullets fly again.
Let Me In is the rare English-language remake that is better than the original. Those cats in the original are some of the worst effects you will ever see.
the cats are so funny, I always forget about them because the rest of the effects in the more memorable scenes are great.
Vampires are characters with their own personalities, zombies are a plot device to force character interactions with in a survival scenario
I tend to find adding lore to most zombie stories tends to ruin them, tbh. Feels like it always ends up turning into zombies 'evolving' to be more human or have special abilities or etc. I'm a huge lover and reading zombie novels, and the only zombie related "lore" I didn't hate in any of them that I've read was in Jonathan Maberry's Dead of Night series. Highly recommend that series if you like reading zombies, and the way the zombies are created/exist in that word is kinda gnarly (And, as non spoiler-y as I can, that means it also extends into his YA Rot & Ruin series which is also a good read). But part of why World War Z(book) is so good is in explicitly avoids getting into the lore at all, outside of 'yeah it's a virus' that is somewhat explained in the Zombie Survival Guide book but that's about it.
Zombies are boring because film makers think the effects they use on them and the lore are more important than interesting characters and the interactions they write.