X-Men: Apocalypse, ugh, hard to believe how crap this franchise became after First Class was so amazing and Days of Future Past was pretty good, too. Probably only 20 worthwhile minutes out of a 150-minute runtime. And it was particularly disgusting to see Auschwitz used as a special effects prop.

Just try and imagine how hilarious all the scenes set in Poland were to us here. The audience was literally laughing uproariously through what was supposed to be some of the most dramatic scenes.

At least this year's Logan was phenomenally good.

Yeah, I am excited to watch Logan on Blu-ray in June or so. What were the problems with the scenes in Poland? Other than everybody speaking perfect English.

Passengers.

Promising and nice at the beggining but meh at the end.

What English? They were hilariously trying to speak polish. Trust me, it sounds like something out of Allo Allo to us :D

And I don't blame Fassbender, I know he did the best he could, but he should never have been put in this position. It should have been all in english, it would be less distracting. Or at least they could have hired actual polish actors for the other roles in those scenes. But the way they did it, well... his family is dying, and we are all rolling with laughter :D

Dune

I know Dune (the Lynch film, not the miniseries) receives a lot of hate, but I really did not think it was bad. I actually quite enjoyed it, if more as a imaginative and twisted science fiction film than a faithful adaptation. The cast did well, the visuals were just incredible (especially for the time), the soundtrack was atmospheric, and the parts of the story that were kept well done quite well in my eyes. There were parts from the book that I wish they kept in, but it still felt focused and well paced. If Universal let Lynch have final cut, this would have likely been a better movie. But the end result was still enjoyable.

On a sidenote, this refers to the original theatrical version. I know there are several "director's cuts", some region-exclusive. The one I did watch, the Region 1 two-disc set, had additions that just made things slower and cuts that just felt weird.

It's a great movie and a mess of a movie all at the same time, but I love it. It will forever be how I "see" Dune in my mind's eye. The cast is phenomenal, the soundtrack is the stuff of legends, the visuals remain some of the best you'll ever see (sure, they aged on the technicl side, but the design and grandeur of everything is superb). It's one of the most unique sf movies out there.

Long live the fighters!

After playing Blackguards intensively and enjoying it immensely, I've binged some films.

Soylent Green has that old charm that Logan's Run and other (mostly 70's/80's) sci-fi movies have. Some stem from inadequate technology, some are simply trends in movie making. People look very much like the decade the movie is from, despite being set in the future, which I find a fun anachronism. There aren't many effects or even believable ones and it's like they're aware of this, because the characters and character drama is usually a focus. I won't spoil the ending, but this movie is worth seeing even if you know it.

Barry Lyndon is 3 hours, but it has a good pace throughout and it's interesting to see everything that happens to him. His fortunes and misfortunes are both fun and engrossing. Barry Lyndon isn't an altogether good or capable person, which is refreshing and other characters also have their faults. To my great surprise and enjoyment, I found out that it was available with both German dubbing and subtitles. It has a lot of dialogue, so next time I watch it I can practice my German both by hearing and reading.

Woflhound is a russian fantasy movie that has the common tropes, but is also unusual in a good way. It has evil villains, but also people who are neither particularly good or bad. It's got the Chosen One, but his friends are very important for the story and his love interest isn't a damsel in distress. It's as enjoyable as any adventure movie, but the "russian" character (for lack of a better description) sets it apart, making it more than just another movie in a well-worn genre.

The two-disc dvd I have with Stephen King's 1408 contains both the theatrical release and the director's cut. I watched the theatrical version on DVD some years ago and now decided to see the director's cut. John Cusack is really good as a fun, sarcastic and likeable character (like Robert Downey Jr's characters without the arrogance) and it's basically him in an "evil room" the entire film. It's more a creeeping psychological horror than jumpscares, although it has some of that. I must say that I liked the director's cut better, but I see why they didn't go with that one in theaters.

I really wouldn't say Soylent Green has much charm. I think it's a great movie, but utterly terrifying one. I don't think it aged much, quite the contrary in many ways that bleak future seems closer and closer. Roth's death scene is absolutely brutal as much as it is beautiful, it's one of the most gutwrenching thing's I've ever seen.


I should see the director's cut one of these days. I really enjoyed this movie when I saw in the theatre, and I'm not much of a horror movie fan. But this was right up my alley- like you say it's not jumpscares but more about the mood, the surreal psychological horror. When I think about it now I think it almost could be a John Carpenter movie, and when it comes to horrors there's no greater praise I can give.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

So, yeah, really like the first one. This one suffers from what many sequels do: not as good. I thought the first half dragged a bit, and they reached too far for the laughs. Too much 'cutie Grootie' as well. Second half picked up steam and had better flow to it, although some of the writing was.. questionable. If you liked the first, you'll probably get enough out of this that you'll not feel it was money wasted, but I'd likely just wait for the Blu-ray release (these days that only means a few months anyway).

If you didn't like the first, you'll hate this one.

Event Horizon

Again, like Dune, this is another science fiction film (of ones that I have watched recently) that got a lot of bad attention. And again, like Dune, I just could not hate this one. It has a few problems with dated CGI effects and some questionable dialogue. But other than that, I loved it. The acting was surprisingly solid, the homages to the horror that inspired it (the blood from The Shining, the Hell-like torture of Hellraiser, even the use of a sound effect from Doom) were well done, and the practical effects were horrifying and impressive. Especially after watching the documentary on it, it's easy to gain a real appreciation for the film and the challenges it went through. It would have been nice to get an unrated cut, but what's there is still a bloody disturbing time.

Also, as a sidenote for anyone who wants to buy it, try to buy the Special Collector's Edition. It has a better presentation, and contains features like the aforementioned documentary and some of the cut scenes.
I'll agree with you about the advertisement campaign. It relied too much on just action. But I think it just made the more insane and comedic elements of Hardcore Henry a great surprise. During the entire first time I watched it, I kept thinking it was like someone took the attitude of something like Duke Nukem 3D and mixed it with the insanity of a Metal Gear game.

Plus the soundtrack... I can rewatch Hardcore Henry a dozen times for that alone.

Alien: Covenant

So let me start by saying I loved the 3 "original" movies of Alien. I saw them when I was 10 or 12 and I found them very scary but remember enjoying the movies. I have never seen Prometheus because I never knew it was related with Alien.

So i when to the cinema expecting to see a movie that will be scary and make me scream but it was nothing like that. The movie was so predictable, the story made no sense, the CGI effects were awful and it wasn't scary, it was a little gory but not scary. I the end it was disappointing.

It follows - imdb page

Loved it and I'm not usually much of a horror fan. Also, I'm not gonna lie, this film got to me. Highly recommended.
The trailer in retrospect comes across as a bit cheesy. Just skip it and go straight to the film.

It occurred to me that people might not know about this: The official Mystery Science Theater 3000 Youtube channel posts one of the classic episodes in its entirety every month, and you can watch it legally and for free.

Here's the link:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYy4ZargUluf-iyr4vFpe-xaJ46GEDpBI