Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,202 
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Post by Confessor on Aug 3, 2017 18:00:31 GMT -5
Going to see Valerian tomorrow. Hope it's good. Really wanna see Dunkirk too in the next week or two.
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Post by hondobrode on Aug 3, 2017 20:28:13 GMT -5
Will see Dunkirk sometime.
Valerian was all kinds of awesome IMO !
The guy that was Drax in GotG is being courted as Eternal Warrior in Valiant's upcoming movie of the same.
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Post by berkley on Aug 4, 2017 1:30:44 GMT -5
Going to see Valerian tomorrow. Hope it's good. Really wanna see Dunkirk too in the next week or two. I should be seeing Valerian tomorrow as well. Missed Dunkirk because of work, but still might to catch it eventually. I'm also interested in Atomic Blonde even though I haven't seen Charlize Theron in anything yet, for all the movies she's done, so I don't have any opinion on her. But I like the idea of a female Bond-like character, so I hope she and the film-makers can pull it off. |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,202
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Post by Confessor on Aug 4, 2017 11:57:20 GMT -5
So, I just got back from seeing Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. I'm not familiar with the comic books other than having glanced inside them breifly, but I liked the film quite a bit. It's a really nice slice of eye-popping sci-fi and I certainly don't think it deserves the bad reviews that it's been getting over here in the British press. I mean, it didn't utterly blow me away or anything, but it is an exciting and fun film. Visually, it looked incredible, with some really nice CGI and, actually, it's a very beautiful film to watch. The set design also looked very much like a European sci-fi comic, rather than an American one, if that makes sense. As I'm sure many here will know, the Valerian books were a big influence on the look of Star Wars and, unfortunately, I think a lot of mainstream cinema audiences who don't know any better will think this film is a bit of a Star Wars rip-off. That said, I think the writers and director were also actively playing up to this and having some fun with it, because there are a number of nods -- both visually and in the dialogue -- to specific moments in the original SW trilogy. Much as I enjoyed the film, I do have a couple of complaints -- one of which is minor and the other fairly major. I felt that during the first third of the film, it was all so visually impressive and eye-popping that the film's two stars, Valerian and Laureline, were somewhat overwhelmed or lost among the special effects. That impression seemed to ease as the film went on, but the two characters did almost feel like they were playing second bill to the CGI wizardry to begin with. My second complaint is related to the utterly awful casting choice of pop star Rhianna as a shape-shifter. She totally ruined her portion of the film for me and really took me out of the story, starting with a completely unnecessary dance number that looks just like a Rhianna pop video. Seriously, there's basically a sexy Rihanna pop video right in the middle of the film! This scene is drawn out way too long and serves no other purpose than to say, "hey look, we've got Rihanna in our film!". It really is bad. Very, very bad. The problem with Rihanna's character doesn't end there either because... {Spoiler: Click to show}
...when she dies, the film makers obviously wanted it to be a moving death scene, full of pathos and and wistful "what ifs", but the whole scene falls completely flat. As a viewer, I just didn't care about her character and her dying meant nothing to me. In fact, I was actually kind of relieved to see her kick the bucket. Anyway, those two criticisms aside, I did enjoy the film. The two central characters are very likable and most of the supporting cast were great too. I would definitely recommend Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets to anyone who is a fan of artfully made, action-packed sci-fi. |
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Post by berkley on Aug 5, 2017 0:52:34 GMT -5
My impressions are pretty much in tune with Confessor's except that the weakest point of the film for me was the title character and his relationship with Laureline: I thought they cast him too young, wrote him and Laureline too cocky and American, and way over-emphasised the romance angle between the two.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,202
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Post by Confessor on Aug 5, 2017 5:46:50 GMT -5
My impressions are pretty much in tune with Confessor's except that the weakest point of the film for me was the title character and his relationship with Laureline: I thought they cast him too young, wrote him and Laureline too cocky and American, and way over-emphasised the romance angle between the two. I know what you mean about the two leads being cast so young. It was kinda hard to believe that they would be given so much authority and command such respect among their much older comrades, but I just went with it because I assumed that's how it was in the comic. |
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Post by hondobrode on Aug 5, 2017 13:17:13 GMT -5
They didn't look that young in the original graphic novels. The young look actually kind of grew on me. Kind of gave it more of that European vibe.
As far as Rihanna being in it, I thought it was ok. Didn't bother me any and I thought it was an appropriate character for her.
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Post by impulse on Aug 5, 2017 16:43:28 GMT -5
The new Spider Man was good if anyone hasn't seen it. I think this is the best take now that honors the original spirit of Spidey while also being modern and fitting in with the MCU.
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Post by berkley on Aug 5, 2017 23:30:08 GMT -5
They didn't look that young in the original graphic novels. The young look actually kind of grew on me. Kind of gave it more of that European vibe. As far as Rihanna being in it, I thought it was ok. Didn't bother me any and I thought it was an appropriate character for her. I actually thought the actress playing Laureline looked remarkably similar to the character in the BD. It was Valerian himself I thought looked a little too young in the film, whether you compare it to the comic or in terms of the movie itself in which he is supposed to have reached the rank of major (which also made his and Laureline's squabbling more than a little nonsensical since he was presumably her commanding officer). |
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Aug 7, 2017 8:41:15 GMT -5
Finally got to see Kong Skull Island this afternoon. Got it on DVD form the library. Enjoyed it quite a bit for what it was. I like Brie Larson and John C. Reilly in the film quite a bit. Hiddleston and Goodman were decent, but it felt like Samuel Jackson was phoning it in. Three Marvel vets and one Marvel up and comer in the movie. The action was good, the scenery/setting great and the mvoie kept the narrative moving along, so it was an enjoyable action/monster flick, and the post credit scene got me excited for what's to come. -M I'm surprised it didn't get more love from people. It's one of the most fun experiences I've had with a monster movie in a while. I just watched it, last night twice. Watched it once myself while doing laundry, then later on with my son. Great movie. The post credit reveal got me excited. I watched my son's eyes get big as saucers at the reveal when realized what it was. Also got to hand it to Tom Hiddleston, who in my opinion stole the show, from even Samuel L Jackson. Though I have to say in Jackson's defense the stereotypical role he keeps getting cast for and/or roles he's accepting is running thin. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2017 8:57:35 GMT -5
I'm surprised it didn't get more love from people. It's one of the most fun experiences I've had with a monster movie in a while. I just watched it, last night twice. Watched it once myself while doing laundry, then later on with my son. Great movie. The post credit reveal got me excited. I watched my son's eyes get big as saucers at the reveal when realized what it was. Also got to hand it to Tom Hiddleston, who in my opinion stole the show, from even Samuel L Jackson. Though I have to say in Jackson's defense the stereotypical role he keeps getting cast for and/or roles he's accepting is running thin. Samuel Jackson is at the point in his career where no matter what movie he is in or what role his is in, he is playing Samuel Jackson on the screen. He's not the first talented actor to have gotten to that point (Jack Nicholson anyone) and there are some whose whole career is simply that (Arnie ahem), but it does wear thin in many cases. -M |
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Aug 7, 2017 9:22:22 GMT -5
I just watched it, last night twice. Watched it once myself while doing laundry, then later on with my son. Great movie. The post credit reveal got me excited. I watched my son's eyes get big as saucers at the reveal when realized what it was. Also got to hand it to Tom Hiddleston, who in my opinion stole the show, from even Samuel L Jackson. Though I have to say in Jackson's defense the stereotypical role he keeps getting cast for and/or roles he's accepting is running thin. Samuel Jackson is at the point in his career where no matter what movie he is in or what role his is in, he is playing Samuel Jackson on the screen. He's not the first talented actor to have gotten to that point (Jack Nicholson anyone) and there are some whose whole career is simply that (Arnie ahem), but it does wear thin in many cases. -M Funny enough my son and I were talking about that. He was like "is Mace Windu the only characters he's played that isn't always angry and c cursing?". And then I said, "wouldn't it be funny if Samuel L Jackson was actually the opposite of the roles he plays and is a mild mannered guy that just happens to play the opposite of himself." Type casting happens, yeah. It's like Christopher Walken NOT playing a villain. But even then, he can play a variety of villains. Jackson is always the same. I could tell from the Packard/Kong stare down what was going to happen in the movie just because of Jackson's character. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 7, 2017 9:48:25 GMT -5
Samuel Jackson is at the point in his career where no matter what movie he is in or what role his is in, he is playing Samuel Jackson on the screen. He's not the first talented actor to have gotten to that point (Jack Nicholson anyone) and there are some whose whole career is simply that (Arnie ahem), but it does wear thin in many cases. -M Funny enough my son and I were talking about that. He was like "is Mace Windu the only characters he's played that isn't always angry and c cursing?". Well, he was an inspirational speechmaker in Deep Blue Sea... for a little while!  One atypical role he pulled very well was the one he held in The Red Violin. Really nice work there. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 8, 2017 13:41:46 GMT -5
Each cell is an oil painting??? Holy frijoles... Try to top that, computer animation!!!
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Post by Jesse on Aug 10, 2017 16:06:21 GMT -5
Each cell is an oil painting??? Holy frijoles... Try to top that, computer animation!!! That looks like an interesting use of rotoscoping. I feel like any Van Gogh biopic has big shoes to fill given the high quality of Lust for Life (1956) which has a brilliant performance by Kirk Douglas and is one of my favorite films. |
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