Re: Movies that aren't really BAD -- but aren't very good, either
Cave (2016) Norwegian dubbed in English on Netflix.
"A group of former military elites set out to explore an uncharted abyss, not knowing their worst nightmare is waiting for them deep beneath the ground."
That's not what happened at all, they tried to make it all eerie and such, but really it was a dumb love triangle.
Re: Movies that aren't really BAD -- but aren't very good, either
Despicable ME 3: Stupid, childish, I was amused.
Put in the aren't really bad as it wasn't quite as good as the others suffering from too much cashism (there are a few parts that are clearly studio exec ordered or otherwise focus grouped) but the original charm of Gru and the goils is there, with Lucy being a great addition, being the newest and blankest she also maintains the original's light hearted goofy character feel the most.
If you're a fan of the previous ones you'll like it, if the minions make you crazy, this is a torture film for you.
Re: Movies that aren't really BAD -- but aren't very good, either
Cars 3 was actually okay. At least as good as the original. It's a shame we had to endure the second one to get to the story of this one. I've never seen part two so I really don't know the depth of the depravity of it so I can't make any comparisons, or really any personal judgements on it.
It's weird, though. I like the Cars world (without any bothersome need to explore its mysteries) but I don't really care for any of the main characters in it. I did get a little verklempt with the Click an Clack cameos in 1 and 3. Three especially because one of the real live voices for it has passed away. I get a bigger kick out of the tribute characters. Like, Mr The King - analogous to Richard Petty, my own very favorite NASCAR driver.
What I really reveled in, both in the first and now in the third is the animation. Really great stuff there.
Probably not really worth a theatre run unless you have dedicated pixar lovers or wee ones who'd enjoy it more. But it was generally a solid flick considering its pedigree.
Re: Movies that aren't really BAD -- but aren't very good, either
I liked the bad CGI ants.
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"Her eyes in certain light were violet, and all her teeth were even. That's a rare, fair feature: even teeth. She smiled to excess, but she chewed with real distinction." - Eleanor of Aquitaine
Re: Movies that aren't really BAD -- but aren't very good, either
Er ist wieder da (Look who's back)
Hitler wakes up in 21st century Berlin is the basic premise of this German movie. It tries to be too many things: buddy comedy, satire, documentary. It has scripted parts and unscripted parts where they just film "Hitler's" interactions with real people (à la Borat) and it all doesn't work. It has some really funny moments and quite a few scary ones (when real people react to him in a way that is very, very ... uncomfortable - Nazi salute and all). The acting is mediocre (with the guy playing Hitler being better than the rest of the cast) and it's way too long and unfocused.
Re: Movies that aren't really BAD -- but aren't very good, either
Life
aka Idiots in Space. It's another Alien clone full of morons that somehow were sent to the ISS. It's all pretty annoying but still way better than Covenant.
Re: Movies that aren't really BAD -- but aren't very good, either
New Netflix movie, "Little Evil"
Gary (Adam Scott) marries Samantha (Evangeline Lily), but has to deal with his new stepson - who is probably the Antichrist. It's a nice metaphor for a child acting out at a new step parent. It's sometimes funny, and sometimes fun, and otherwise slight and forgettable.
I watched it for the leads, but it earned a few extra points for a quality cast, most notably AL, played by Bridget Everett, as a friend, coworker and also a step dad.
I don't regret the approximately 90 minute running time.
Re: Movies that aren't really BAD -- but aren't very good, either
Good choice. I seen't an advertisement for it and thought it'd be fun. I read a review that said it wasn't. I decided to try it for myself and enjoyed it enough. It did its job and made me laugh a little They definitely cast the right child. I thought he was a bit creepy being all broody and silent. Then he laughed (joyfully, mind you) and it was disturbing.
Re: Movies that aren't really BAD -- but aren't very good, either
Guardians of the Galaxy 2
It's not bad but it feels too much like a movie made by a committee. What worked really well in the first one? Jokes! Let's put tons and tons of jokes and puns in!!!
Groot! I know! We'll put an adorable, cute little babby Groot in there!!
I liked the first half of the movie well enough but the second half was only annoying.
Re: Movies that aren't really BAD -- but aren't very good, either
I was reminded that I saw Beauty and the Beast the live action remake on a flight.
It was fine, but the original version is much better IMO in terms of the quality of the singers and the style. I didn't get the proper aural experience since I was on a plane, but I'm pretty confident in my judgment on that anyway.
So I don't really get the point of why it exists. It wasn't offering something significantly different from the original... it was just the same thing but live action and worse singing and a few more adult touches.
This was the same thing with the American remake of Let the Right One In... The only purpose of the American version was to make a version in English so that people didn't have to read subtitles. Has value for people who dislike subtitles or can't use them*, and there isn't a dub or they also hate dubs... but those don't apply to me, so...
*Because they're illiterate to some degree, or have some sort of impairment like dyslexia
Re: Movies that aren't really BAD -- but aren't very good, either
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. I feel like I just watched a Vis Effects demo. It was just a lot of people standing or sitting in front of insubstantial feeling CG pretty flared scenes. Or poorly choreographed space battles. (So are lazers useless, or what?) Now we're at a CG alien cave with rocks. At one point we had a computer generated character pointing a thing at the ship causing it to unhide the model and I wondered, was this going to be important later or are they about to sell me a cool 3D Studio Max Plugin... turns out neither.
It should really get additional points off for making the idea of a boltzman brain style reality shaping planet boring.
Re: Movies that aren't really BAD -- but aren't very good, either
Indeed, so um was Kevin Costner, or whoever that was, cast as Ego just for the joke that he claimed his dad was David Hasellhof but in fact Hahahaha it was Sylvester Stallone all along. Besides does that mean that Kurt Russel actually exists in-movie universe and that one ravager captain always goes around with people saying, "Hey you look just like that one actor, Kurt Russell, you were in Judge Dredd! Can I get your autograph before you blow up my ship please?"