What Movie Are You Watching?

[Herdfan]

Quantumania. Yikes, just isn’t good. Couldn’t hold my attention.

The first Ant-Man was entertaining. Then it went all MCU and lost me.

Will be going to see GotG, V3 either today or tomorrow. It will be my first theater movie in almost a year (Jurassic World: Dominion).

 

[Huntn]

I have fond memories of Grumpy Old Men (1993) and it’s sequel Grumpier Old Men (1995) partially because they were filmed in Minnesota, where I lived longer than any other place, I like the cast, the setting, and the story.

 

[Roller]

The first Ant-Man was entertaining. Then it went all MCU and lost me.

Will be going to see GotG, V3 either today or tomorrow. It will be my first theater movie in almost a year (Jurassic World: Dominion).

We stopped going to movies at the beginning of the pandemic, initially for health reasons, but we haven't returned.

Though sharing the experience with an audience in a venue with a massive screen and state-of-the-art sound system has its advantages, we don't miss the sticky floors, high ticket costs, rude people who refuse to shut up, commercials, and previews for movies we don't care about, not to mention travel time and exorbitant concession prices. We don't mind waiting a few months for streaming, and we like being able to pause the film for a break or even pull the plug if we decide we made the wrong choice. We still prefer to see plays and other stage productions live, though.

This isn't meant as a knock on anyone who wants to see movies in theaters, but this arrangement works for us.

 

[Huntn]

We stopped going to movies at the beginning of the pandemic, initially for health reasons, but we haven't returned.

Though sharing the experience with an audience in a venue with a massive screen and state-of-the-art sound system has its advantages, we don't miss the sticky floors, high ticket costs, rude people who refuse to shut up, commercials, and previews for movies we don't care about, not to mention travel time and exorbitant concession prices. We don't mind waiting a few months for streaming, and we like being able to pause the film for a break or even pull the plug if we decide we made the wrong choice. We still prefer to see plays and other stage productions live, though.

This isn't meant as a knock on anyone who wants to see movies in theaters, but this arrangement works for us.

I don’t mind hitting the theater* for certain titles, but for anything questionable, I wait to stream.
Our theater is economical, $6-7 a ticket during the day, just have to get my wife to lay off the concessions.

 

[Herdfan]

I don’t mind hitting the theater* for certain titles, but for anything questionable, I wait to stream.
Our theater is economical, $6-7 a ticket during the day, just have to get my wife to lay off the concessions.

Same here. When the offspring was going into HS, I turned her old playroom in the basement into a Home Theater. It has a 110" screen, 7.1 sound, elevated second row seating in reclining theater chairs, a couch on the lower level (for me and the wife) and a stack of Big Joe's in the corner for overflow. It was filled with kids almost every weekend.

So since 2015 I have had no reason to go to a theater, especially with the theater release to PPV/DVD-BR/Streaming windows getting so short.

Last movie I saw in a theater pre-pandemic was Knives Out and that was mainly to get out of the MIL's house over Thanksgiving. Next one was Top Gun: Maverick last June and JW soon after that.

Local theater had already ticked me off because they stopped buying Caffeine-Free Diet Coke. I can't go to a movie at 7 or 9 and drink caffeine. They used to have it and just decided they didn't want to carry it anymore, so I decided I wasn't go to give them any more money. And I haven't, but might tonight or tomorrow. But I will sneak a couple of bottles in.

My daughter and her friend were the queens of sneaking food into a theater. They liked eating Thai food while watching their movie and did so on several occasions.

 

[Edd]

Just watched Avengers Endgame on D+. Ending it with Cap and Peggy Carter dancing is some pretty smooth moves. Endgame is an impressive film.

 

[Alli]

Though sharing the experience with an audience in a venue with a massive screen and state-of-the-art sound system has its advantages, we don't miss the sticky floors, high ticket costs, rude people who refuse to shut up, commercials, and previews for movies we don't care about, not to mention travel time and exorbitant concession prices. We don't mind waiting a few months for streaming, and we like being able to pause the film for a break or even pull the plug if we decide we made the wrong choice. We still prefer to see plays and other stage productions live, though.

Pretty much the same for us. I think we’ve been to the theater twice since 2020, once to see GoG last week. I no longer like anything about the theater experience, even going on a week day when there are only 6-7 other people in the theater. While there are other movies recently released, none of them will get me back into a theater.

 

[Herdfan]

I no longer like anything about the theater experience, even going on a week day when there are only 6-7 other people in the theater.

I will say the bigger theaters are trying. We saw Top Gun: Maverick in a theater with large recliners that we booked our location when we bought the tickets, nice side tables tor drinks and food and the food was actually pretty good and a bit beyond normal movie theater food.

Of course we don't have a nice theater like that or I might go more often.

 

[Huntn]

Just watched Avengers Endgame on D+. Ending it with Cap and Peggy Carter dancing is some pretty smooth moves. Endgame is an impressive film.

So was Infinity War, just don’t think too much about time travel theories and paradoxes.

 

[Alli]

Of course we don't have a nice theater like that or I might go more often.

We had one of those before we moved, but it’s now a 40 minute drive. No thanks.

 

[Huntn]

Training Day (2001)- This movie is brilliant and hard to watch. An idealistic new officer to an undercover crime unit is broken in by a veteran officer (Denzel Washington) who is fast and loose with the law, claiming the new guy has to keep his eye on the big picture, and you spend the first hour wondering what is what, before…everything goes sideways.

 

[Alli]

We watched John Wick, chpt 4 last night. A fitting end to the series, cause there were no sharks left to jump.

 

[Huntn]

Ex Machina (2014)- Comments here:
Post in thread 'The Ai thread'
https://techboards.net/threads/the-ai-thread.4165/post-139902

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[Huntn]

Since this is a movie, comments brought back :
Post in thread 'The Ai thread'
https://techboards.net/threads/the-ai-thread.4165/post-139905

I also really like that movie.

Serious Ex Machina Plot Spoilers proceed only if you want it spoiled

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At first I kind of viewed them as sociopaths, removing whatever obstacle stood in the way of their freedom, but I recognized that humans caught as prisoners with someone who had life and death power over them might have acted exactly the same way.

What struck me is that the 2 Androids, whatever cognitive abilities they had, whatever Nathan had done to them, they were seriously unhappy which was revealed in the videos that Caleb viewed. Apparantly instead of being moody, they were able to compartmentalize. And they either had limited emotions or were very good at moderating their behaviors. There is a point where Ava actually expresses fear that she will be terminated.

I was also impressed with how they attacked Nathan, no rage, no energized effort or emotion at all, just walk up casually and slide the knife in.

Hence the danger of not putting the 3 Robotic laws, or something like that, clear limits that stop them in their tracks from going overboard which is a subjective judgement. If I had a house bot, I’d want it to be able to protect me, but then the issue becomes how autonomous does this ability exist. And my guess an AI could be programmed with a series of step to neutralize a threat, at first not harming an intruder, until more steps are triggered requiring the Android to protect itself.

 

[Alli]

Since I’m back studying ASL, we watched the movie CODA last night. It gives you a great insight into deaf culture. I only cried at the end. You know, the last 30 minutes of the movie.

 

[Alli]

Actually went to the movies this afternoon. Saw Fast X. It’s staying true to the franchise, with everything totally beyond believability.

This is the first thing I’ve seen Jason Momoa in since Stargate, where I didn’t find him a totally one-dimensional character who was just there to show some muscle. He obviously had a very good time playing the role. Looking forward to the next two.

 

[Huntn]

65 (2023)- This story, they lay it out in print at the beginning, “65 million years ago a transport expedition full of human looking people runs into calamity and they end up crash landing on an uncharted planet labeled as Earth”, full of mean nasty dinosaurs. Adventures ensue…you might also remember that 65m years ago in Earth history, a significant event takes place.

Bottom line, I found this story to be border line boring and forgettable. There nothing that stands out for remembering

View attachment 815​

 

[Huntn]

Avatar 2 (2022)- I’m going to have to watch this again. My first impression are the visuals are photorealistic and considering this was all CGI, the big battle that takes place is technically impressive, the underwater shots are wonderful, and Neyteri becomes a super bad ass in a fight for her family, however the story did not really grab me.

The same music, bringing back all of the characters including the dead ones, the same characteristic vocalizations and exclamations such as “Let’s get some!”, “Your not in Kansas any more” made it feel like the writers were trying to remind the audience how good the original was, but it felt repetitious to me. And that big battle, kind of fissiles out as a setup for the next movie, where instead of running away again Sully at the end of three hours declares it’s time to fight again. Uh huh….

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Spoiler: Plot

The first time Sully took it upon himself to organize the clans and surprise, all the Pandora fauna decided to jump in and kick some human butts, ejecting them off the planet. So here they come again, and no organizing the clans, where’s Eywa (?), and just running away? Sully should know that the best way to defeat the colonists is to hit them hard and quickly before they can get established, seems like a better time to call up Taruk Makto. Maybe that will happen sometime in the future timeline.

Avatar2- It was an expectations issue the first time. Watched this on Disney+ for a second view. I’ve been assimilated again.

 

[Hrafn]

Avatar2- It was an expectations issue the first time. Watched this on Disney+ for a second view. I’ve been assimilated again.

I felt like it couldn't decide between which of 3 movies it wanted to be, and didn't follow the logic from the first. I still want my Unobtanium.

It was pretty to watch, though.

 

[Edd]

Avatar2- It was an expectations issue the first time. Watched this on Disney+ for a second view. I’ve been assimilated again.

Finished my second viewing last night also. It reinforced my first reaction. I think it’s good. My wife resists James Cameron, like she digs Aliens and his Terminator films, but will never succumb to the charms of Titanic. But she was crying on the couch multiple times during the last hour. Cameron got her this time .