rate the last movie you saw

[AndyDursin]

Agreed Eric. The dare mention of not believing VERTIGO to be a masterwork (it's not even close to being my favorite Hitchcock -- I respect it technically, but I don't really enjoy it) sent a whole bunch of those guys into a tizzy. I actually stopped posting pretty much altogether after that!

[Eric Paddon]

It has great photography, great music, great atmosphere, staging, I can't fault the performances.....but what does it all mean? North By Northwest is at least giving you a fun ride. "The Birds" is a case where the atmosphere and the ambiguity works. But honestly, Jimmy Stewart is sick and the ending is contrived. And I don't care how blasphemous this is, but the deleted tag of a chastened Stewart silently returning to Barbara Bel Geddes is probably the one redeeming point of the plot because at least you get a sense that finally the man has started to take a serious look at himself at last.

[AndyDursin]

TOY STORY 4
7/10

This unnecessary but entertaining sequel offers something of a slimmed-down storyline from the series' last outing, finding the gang heading out on a road trip with new owner Bonnie and her family when Woody and beloved utensil "Forky" are captured in an antiques shop presided over by a creepy girl doll with a broken voice box. Old friend Bo Peep is fortunately around to head up a rescue mission and ask Woody if there's life beyond the life of a toy at the same time, leading to the expected frenetic finish.

There are a few laughs and lots of technical wizardry involved with "Toy Story 4" (the water at the film's start shows especially how far photo-realism has progressed over the years since the first Pixar film's release), and all of it goes down nice and easy -- even if the latter half is just a standard chase movie.

Kids won't mind but adults may feel like they've seen this all before, because they have. There's no new ground being broken in terms of its dramatic terrain, and as evidenced by the 8 credited screenwriters who attended a brainstorming "writer's room" that was needed to concoct a premise for this film, there's really no reason why TOY STORY 4 had to be made to begin with -- outside of Disney wanting a surefire hit that keeps the franchise visible for a new generation of youngsters...and future "Toy Story Land" theme park-goers.

[Monterey Jack]

Agreed Eric. The dare mention of not believing VERTIGO to be a masterwork (it's not even close to being my favorite Hitchcock -- I respect it technically, but I don't really enjoy it) sent a whole bunch of those guys into a tizzy. I actually stopped posting pretty much altogether after that!

This is how I feel about Blade Runner.

[AndyDursin]

Agreed Eric. The dare mention of not believing VERTIGO to be a masterwork (it's not even close to being my favorite Hitchcock -- I respect it technically, but I don't really enjoy it) sent a whole bunch of those guys into a tizzy. I actually stopped posting pretty much altogether after that!

This is how I feel about Blade Runner.

Hey it's fair, there are people who just can't get into BLADE RUNNER. It's not a movie for everyone.

[Paul MacLean]

Hey it's fair, there are people who just can't get into BLADE RUNNER. It's not a movie for everyone.

I was rather ambivalent about Blade Runner when I first saw it -- "Some cool visuals and effects", I thought, "but nothing special".

Then I saw it again two years later and was knocked-over.

[Monterey Jack]

Blade Runner is a movie I re-watch every two or three years, hoping it'll finally "click" and I'll see the magnificent piece of speculative sci-fi that everyone else does, and I never do. It's a very good film, and arguably the most visually-influential movie of the past 40 years, but the characters are stock, and the pacing leaden, making this sub-two hour movie seem longer than Blade Runner 2049. Even removing Harrison Ford's narcolepsy-inducing narration doesn't help. The best ever description of how I feel about it was that "Honest Trailer" video done a few years back, where at one point the narrator says "It's brilliant...!" in mid-yawn. It's a three-star movie with four-star visuals.

[AndyDursin]

It's a futuristic film noir. The characters are intentionally supposed to be stock to some degree. The dramatic experience it gives off is directly related to the art direction, score and mood. And if you want or need more than that, it may not be your thing, but for me there's plenty to chew on just the same (and an inferior and bloated sequel like 2049 can't come close to touching it) and it's a complete classic in my mind.

[mkaroly]

BLADE RUNNER is one of my all-time favorite sci-fi films. Damn near perfect film...and it makes me cry. I am finally reading DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP and am looking forward to watching the movie again (all five versions of it) followed by the book/movie review.

I will also have to re-watch BR 2049 as well since it too is based on the book.

[Paul MacLean]

I liked the essential story idea for 2049 -- it took the narrative in an interesting direction and didn't re-hash the original. I just thought it was badly directed -- filled with slow, ponderous stretches and a generally dispassionate tone. That I'm not a fan of Ryan Gosling did not help matters either.

Vangelis' absence was very keenly felt -- especially as the Zimmer & co. score added nothing to the film.

[AndyDursin]

BLADE RUNNER is also probably the most visually "forward thinking" and influential film ever made in that regard.

2049 wasn't 'disrespectul' but it was weirdly designed and didn't entirely connect with Scott's aesthetic. The entirely European and mostly white cast of extras was a dead giveaway it was shot in Budapest (or wherever it was filmed). I liked it but Gosling left a void as Paul said and it really went on far too long. Villeneuve is a good director but can be very indulgent at times. It's a fine movie on balance but its efforts to connect with the original felt mostly contrived and were arguably its weakest point (didn't Edward James Olmos even bother to remember the accent he had in the original?? Lol).

[Monterey Jack]

I liked it but Gosling left a void as Paul said and it really went on far too long.

Like Ford was any LESS logy and disinterested? Gosling was at least SPECIFICALLY playing a Replicant!

[AndyDursin]

I don't think Ford was disinterested or disengaged. I think he was confused by what Scott wanted, and Scott himself wasn't entirely clear what he wanted and also how to convey that to his cast at that point in time (plus the whole fact he couldn't stand Sean Young which also came across in his performance). It's chilly and he didn't like the experience of making the film, but I wouldn't say he was bored except for his voice over delivery (And there again is a problem with 2049 where Ford doesn't seem to be playing Rick Decard but rather Harrison Ford lol. Doesn't feel like the same character at all)

[Paul MacLean]

I don't think Ford was disinterested or disengaged. I think he was confused by what Scott wanted, and Scott himself wasn't entirely clear what he wanted and also how to convey that to his cast at that point in time (plus the whole fact he couldn't stand Sean Young which also came across in his performance). It's chilly and he didn't like the experience of making the film, but I wouldn't say he was bored except for his voice over delivery (And there again is a problem with 2049 where Ford doesn't seem to be playing Rick Decard but rather Harrison Ford lol. Doesn't feel like the same character at all)

In an odd way, Scott's vague direction and the on-set tensions probably helped Ford's performance -- because he was playing a burned-out, jaded character to begin with.

At the time of its release I don't think audiences (or critics) knew what to make of Blade Runner -- "Han Solo" playing a grim, apathetic antihero, the director of Alien making a film with few "thrills and spills", the composer of the tuneful crowd-pleaser Chariots of Fire delivering a more abstract, subdued score with no "earworm".

[AndyDursin]

Spending Joanne's vacation watching the original STAR WARS trilogy in unmolested versions (two of them from 4K scans -- first time through for Theo on the sequels!

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
"That is not a good ending!"

RETURN OF THE JEDI
"I loved the Ewoks!"

Taking after his dad already...

Those two 4K wouldn't happen to be from that 4K77 and 4K83 project, would those? Fascinating read.

They would be Ed -- the 1080p versions (I don't have anything to play back the UHD files, not even the Xbox One can do that) to be specific. And they look and sound wonderful!