So I ended up seeing Demolition Man last night, and I'm baffled by a few of RJ's points. It's nothing great, but it is most definitely a fun popcorn flick.
Wesley Snipes definitely gave Joker vibes. However, this was definitely a case of it being more tongue in cheek. If he even has his own music playing on top, it's meant to be silly. I find that he doesn't need to be genuinely scary, especially if it's a sort of more comedy-based action film like this. If stakes are required, I feel like this one is more overarching instead of just focusing on him. The fact that the stakes is showing the dystopian society and what the leader of said society is doing.
I find it strange that the dystopian setting here could be too subtle. It's definitely not the best satire, but of course a lot of people are going to be happy no matter the society. That's the same in literally every type of ideology used in the past and present. What this wanted to show is the more nuanced part of it. Basically, the scraps and how they are dealt with. And again, the arcs are not character based, although I find it is the case with the leader of the scraps and Sandra Bullock's character, but it's mostly overarching. The setting as a whole is what had the arc.
Outside of the first scene, Demolition Man has still done lots of property in practically every action scene here. Yes, Simon is a part of it, but he still adds to the chaos. There's also a news scene when the police are seeing the past of John Spartan, and it mentions that he destroyed a mall worth $7 million just to rescue one hostage.
In the end, this is fun, and perhaps the most mind-blowing thing is that Rob Schneider actually made me laugh at one of his jokes.
What was the last movie you've seen?
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PretentiousHipster
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Raging Justice
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Re: What was the last movie you've seen?
Most of the "demolition" is just two examples from the past timeline. You'd think given how unfamiliar he is with the future timeline that he'd do MORE destruction there, but he hardly does anything worth mentioning. So the name Demolition Man ultimately means nothing as the story goes on.
Most of the "comedy" in this film is too forced and just falls flat. Plus, none of the actors have any comedic skill or timing (certainly not Stallone). So everything just falls flat. Simon's lines are just too stupid to actually be funny to anyone other than a 13 year old. He acts like a lame villain from an old 80s cartoon. He's the worst part of the movie by far.
There is no "dystopian" society in this film. Everyone on the surface is happy. The people underground don't even seem that miserable. They are enjoying their freedom, and if they just went topside like everyone else and followed the rules they'd be enjoying the same comforts as the rest of them are.
In theory, I like the idea of showing that too much government overreach and surveillance is a bad thing, It's actually something that I personally believe, but the movie just does such a poor job of showing it. It's like the director just didn't want to commit to the idea. The lame ending furthers my point, when Stallone just tells everybody to learn how to get along and just like that the topside people and underground people are all pals. That was WAAAAY too fucking easy and just proves my point that there were never any real stakes in this film.
Demolition Man just doesn't commit to ANYTHING in its story, and after a while I just got bored. Even the romance feels like a last minute idea that just got sloppily tacked on to the movie. The kiss as the end is so cringe. I think this would be FAR better as a more serious movie without the lame humor and with an actual message that it COMMITED to (like Equilibrium, a far better movie).
None of the action is particularly great either and I'm an action movie junkie
Most of the "comedy" in this film is too forced and just falls flat. Plus, none of the actors have any comedic skill or timing (certainly not Stallone). So everything just falls flat. Simon's lines are just too stupid to actually be funny to anyone other than a 13 year old. He acts like a lame villain from an old 80s cartoon. He's the worst part of the movie by far.
There is no "dystopian" society in this film. Everyone on the surface is happy. The people underground don't even seem that miserable. They are enjoying their freedom, and if they just went topside like everyone else and followed the rules they'd be enjoying the same comforts as the rest of them are.
In theory, I like the idea of showing that too much government overreach and surveillance is a bad thing, It's actually something that I personally believe, but the movie just does such a poor job of showing it. It's like the director just didn't want to commit to the idea. The lame ending furthers my point, when Stallone just tells everybody to learn how to get along and just like that the topside people and underground people are all pals. That was WAAAAY too fucking easy and just proves my point that there were never any real stakes in this film.
Demolition Man just doesn't commit to ANYTHING in its story, and after a while I just got bored. Even the romance feels like a last minute idea that just got sloppily tacked on to the movie. The kiss as the end is so cringe. I think this would be FAR better as a more serious movie without the lame humor and with an actual message that it COMMITED to (like Equilibrium, a far better movie).
None of the action is particularly great either and I'm an action movie junkie
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Raging Justice
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Re: What was the last movie you've seen?
X
So this is a slasher flick with an interesting visual style to it, lot of interesting ways they shot various scenes and interesting cinematography. It's got a fun soundtrack too. This one is set near the end of the 70s while the prequel has that very early 20th century vibe. This movie thematically deals a lot with sexuality and sexual morality. Not a movie to watch with kids in the room, though I guess that would apply to any horror film, but this one has a lot of...erotic material shall we say. It also deals with themes taken from the prequel movie like the obsession with money and fame (and what you're willing to do to get it), being trapped in an unwanted life, religious piety(and repression), as well as the sadness of aging and wasted youth.
I would say that my viewing of the prequel enhanced my viewing of this movie. I was able to connect the dots on some things and recognize some references, all things that presumably would not apply to someone watching this movie first (and this movie was actually released first). The two movies very much complement each other, although Pearl focuses a bit more on character drama (as it's an origin story) while X does offer more of that slasher movie feel. The movies are fine individually, but I feel like this is meant to be enjoyed as an overarching story. In fact, I'm looking forward to the next movie, whenever it comes out, which should end the trilogy.
Mia Goth (fitting name) shines in both movies with impressive performances, particularly in this one. The movies live and die mostly on her acting skills. While there are other characters in these movies, everything mostly revolves around the ones that she plays. If you can't stand her for whatever reason, don't watch these movies.
X is fun, disturbing, and sometimes even funny (in a very dark way). I enjoyed watching it more than Pearl, but again some of that extra enjoyment was BECAUSE I had seen Pearl first.
I've seen people calling these movies masterpieces, and others saying they are overhyped. To me, they are just good, solid horror movies, nothing more, nothing less. I enjoyed watching them. I think we'll be in a better place to judge them after the third movie comes out and we can judge them as a trilogy because the movies seem to be telling an overarching story with strong themes. Anyway, they both get a thumbs up from me
So this is a slasher flick with an interesting visual style to it, lot of interesting ways they shot various scenes and interesting cinematography. It's got a fun soundtrack too. This one is set near the end of the 70s while the prequel has that very early 20th century vibe. This movie thematically deals a lot with sexuality and sexual morality. Not a movie to watch with kids in the room, though I guess that would apply to any horror film, but this one has a lot of...erotic material shall we say. It also deals with themes taken from the prequel movie like the obsession with money and fame (and what you're willing to do to get it), being trapped in an unwanted life, religious piety(and repression), as well as the sadness of aging and wasted youth.
I would say that my viewing of the prequel enhanced my viewing of this movie. I was able to connect the dots on some things and recognize some references, all things that presumably would not apply to someone watching this movie first (and this movie was actually released first). The two movies very much complement each other, although Pearl focuses a bit more on character drama (as it's an origin story) while X does offer more of that slasher movie feel. The movies are fine individually, but I feel like this is meant to be enjoyed as an overarching story. In fact, I'm looking forward to the next movie, whenever it comes out, which should end the trilogy.
Mia Goth (fitting name) shines in both movies with impressive performances, particularly in this one. The movies live and die mostly on her acting skills. While there are other characters in these movies, everything mostly revolves around the ones that she plays. If you can't stand her for whatever reason, don't watch these movies.
X is fun, disturbing, and sometimes even funny (in a very dark way). I enjoyed watching it more than Pearl, but again some of that extra enjoyment was BECAUSE I had seen Pearl first.
I've seen people calling these movies masterpieces, and others saying they are overhyped. To me, they are just good, solid horror movies, nothing more, nothing less. I enjoyed watching them. I think we'll be in a better place to judge them after the third movie comes out and we can judge them as a trilogy because the movies seem to be telling an overarching story with strong themes. Anyway, they both get a thumbs up from me
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Raging Justice
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Re: What was the last movie you've seen?
Razorback
This is a weird, psychedelic, intense monster movie with a lot of interesting cinematography, transitions, camera work, lighting, color, fog...there's a lot going on here visually. I can't even cover it all. It's full of weird, surprising, visual transitions like this:
and what the fuck visuals like this:
Why is that car there?!
and I'm still trying to make sense of this:
After watching this, I'm convinced I don't want to go to Australia. It feels like a miserable, dirty, bloody, wild, creepy place with crazy rednecks after watching this movie. I got some Mad Max vibes from this too.
Warning. If you're a vegan or a member of PETA, this is not the movie for you. Lots of animal violence and shots of animal meat, corpses, bones, etc. This is a movie that will make you lose your appetite or want to puke a few times. There's definitely some elements of man messing with nature too much in this movie's story (via hunting), but it doesn't get preachy about it.
There are some stand out moments in this movie. The opening scene is fucking intense, and immediately grabs you by the balls. Later, we get an amazing desert scene that becomes surreal, weird, beautiful, and also nightmarish.
Every scene involving the Razorback feels intense. It tears through cars and buildings like they're nothing. It feels like a goddamn locomotive train at times. This is basically Jaws...on land....in Australia.
A few characters really stood out with their performances, Sarah Cameron (she's super cute), Jake Cullen, and Benny and Dicko Baker (god these two creeped me out).
So yeah, interesting movie. Not much going on in terms of story, but the visual presentation and the intense encounters with the Razorback monster keep it engaging. If I have one criticism, it's that it loses a bit of steam towards the end. The movie's closing moments aren't amazing. Anyway, I think Ack wrote about this in the Month of Horror 10 thread. He probably describes it better than I did.
Man, I feel like I'm really in the mood for horror movies all of a sudden.
This is a weird, psychedelic, intense monster movie with a lot of interesting cinematography, transitions, camera work, lighting, color, fog...there's a lot going on here visually. I can't even cover it all. It's full of weird, surprising, visual transitions like this:
and what the fuck visuals like this:
Why is that car there?!
and I'm still trying to make sense of this:
After watching this, I'm convinced I don't want to go to Australia. It feels like a miserable, dirty, bloody, wild, creepy place with crazy rednecks after watching this movie. I got some Mad Max vibes from this too.
Warning. If you're a vegan or a member of PETA, this is not the movie for you. Lots of animal violence and shots of animal meat, corpses, bones, etc. This is a movie that will make you lose your appetite or want to puke a few times. There's definitely some elements of man messing with nature too much in this movie's story (via hunting), but it doesn't get preachy about it.
There are some stand out moments in this movie. The opening scene is fucking intense, and immediately grabs you by the balls. Later, we get an amazing desert scene that becomes surreal, weird, beautiful, and also nightmarish.
Every scene involving the Razorback feels intense. It tears through cars and buildings like they're nothing. It feels like a goddamn locomotive train at times. This is basically Jaws...on land....in Australia.
A few characters really stood out with their performances, Sarah Cameron (she's super cute), Jake Cullen, and Benny and Dicko Baker (god these two creeped me out).
So yeah, interesting movie. Not much going on in terms of story, but the visual presentation and the intense encounters with the Razorback monster keep it engaging. If I have one criticism, it's that it loses a bit of steam towards the end. The movie's closing moments aren't amazing. Anyway, I think Ack wrote about this in the Month of Horror 10 thread. He probably describes it better than I did.
Man, I feel like I'm really in the mood for horror movies all of a sudden.
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Raging Justice
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Re: What was the last movie you've seen?
I just tried watching Bio-Zombie...and was just too bored to finish it
When exactly does it get good? 30 minutes into the movie and I just couldn't keep going. The characters are obnoxious. Nothing about the movie is remotely funny or interesting. Meh.
It made me want to go watch Zombieland or Shaun of the Dead again. Those two movies are awesome.
When exactly does it get good? 30 minutes into the movie and I just couldn't keep going. The characters are obnoxious. Nothing about the movie is remotely funny or interesting. Meh.
It made me want to go watch Zombieland or Shaun of the Dead again. Those two movies are awesome.
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Raging Justice
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Re: What was the last movie you've seen?
Tried watching Braindead (1992) and gave up once I realized that the movie's only goal seems to be to gross you out in every fucking scene. This movie is trash and I can't believe it's by Peter Jackson
Also watched The Pope's Exorcist
It's interesting that the movie is about a real life person, but it's really just standard fare as far as exorcism movies goes. Kid talking in a demonic voice. Check. Kid doing the crabwalk. Check. Religious nonsense. Check. Yawn. I wasn't super into this. These types of movies are boring to me because there is so little real action, just some out of shape old man doing lots of prayers, chanting, etc, etc, etc. I'd rather watch a crazy zombie movie like Train to Busan.
Also watched The Pope's Exorcist
It's interesting that the movie is about a real life person, but it's really just standard fare as far as exorcism movies goes. Kid talking in a demonic voice. Check. Kid doing the crabwalk. Check. Religious nonsense. Check. Yawn. I wasn't super into this. These types of movies are boring to me because there is so little real action, just some out of shape old man doing lots of prayers, chanting, etc, etc, etc. I'd rather watch a crazy zombie movie like Train to Busan.
Re: What was the last movie you've seen?
If that's how you feel about Braindead, I highly recommend you avoid Kiwi and Aussie Splatter films. There was a period in the late '80s and early '90s where both countries put out some ridiculous gross out body horror, starting with 1984's Death Warmed Up. Braindead is nowhere the grossest of the genre, and in truth, it's probably even less gross than his earlier film, Bad Taste.
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Raging Justice
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Re: What was the last movie you've seen?
Dead Snow
So while checking out a lot of older horror movies, I came across this. It's an older movie from Tommy Wirkola, the director of Violent Night, a movie I very much enjoyed. So that got my attention. Unlike Violent NIght, this is a Norwegian movie so I had to watch with subtitles. For the first half of the movie I was actually kind of bored. There were one or two scenes that were just weird and some of the dialog was just stupid. Also the movie was going through a lot of typical teens in a cabin in the middle of nowhere horror movie tropes. I was ready to write this off as something not for me much like Bio-Zombie and Braindead/Dead Alive. I gotta say, I'm glad I kept watching just a little bit longer because holy shit does the movie become fucking awesome in its second half. From that point onward it becomes a fun, surprising, and hilarious zombie movie with quite a few nods to Evil Dead 2 (a movie that I love). The movie starts weak, but finishes strong as I couldn't stop watching until the end credits. HIghly recommended movie, just gotta be a bit patient with it. There's a sequel that I'm curious about watching as well.
On a side note, one of the characters had a Braindead t-shirt, which is just ironic given I recently tried watching that and ending up not finishing it
I was actually enjoying some parts of the movie. Some funny bits made me laugh (like what happens to the guy in the opening scene after the monkey bites him) and the dorky little romance story had some charm, but then it got to the point where the movie only seemed interested in being as disgusting as possible. I can handle a little bit of blood and gore, I pretty much expect that from a horror movie, but Jesus does this movie seem to go overboard in trying to be gross. That dinner scene where the people come to recruit his mother was just repulsive and that whole scene seemed to serve no purpose other than grossing out the audience.
So while checking out a lot of older horror movies, I came across this. It's an older movie from Tommy Wirkola, the director of Violent Night, a movie I very much enjoyed. So that got my attention. Unlike Violent NIght, this is a Norwegian movie so I had to watch with subtitles. For the first half of the movie I was actually kind of bored. There were one or two scenes that were just weird and some of the dialog was just stupid. Also the movie was going through a lot of typical teens in a cabin in the middle of nowhere horror movie tropes. I was ready to write this off as something not for me much like Bio-Zombie and Braindead/Dead Alive. I gotta say, I'm glad I kept watching just a little bit longer because holy shit does the movie become fucking awesome in its second half. From that point onward it becomes a fun, surprising, and hilarious zombie movie with quite a few nods to Evil Dead 2 (a movie that I love). The movie starts weak, but finishes strong as I couldn't stop watching until the end credits. HIghly recommended movie, just gotta be a bit patient with it. There's a sequel that I'm curious about watching as well.
On a side note, one of the characters had a Braindead t-shirt, which is just ironic given I recently tried watching that and ending up not finishing it
Ack wrote:If that's how you feel about Braindead, I highly recommend you avoid Kiwi and Aussie Splatter films. There was a period in the late '80s and early '90s where both countries put out some ridiculous gross out body horror, starting with 1984's Death Warmed Up. Braindead is nowhere the grossest of the genre, and in truth, it's probably even less gross than his earlier film, Bad Taste.
I was actually enjoying some parts of the movie. Some funny bits made me laugh (like what happens to the guy in the opening scene after the monkey bites him) and the dorky little romance story had some charm, but then it got to the point where the movie only seemed interested in being as disgusting as possible. I can handle a little bit of blood and gore, I pretty much expect that from a horror movie, but Jesus does this movie seem to go overboard in trying to be gross. That dinner scene where the people come to recruit his mother was just repulsive and that whole scene seemed to serve no purpose other than grossing out the audience.
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SamuraiMegas
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Re: What was the last movie you've seen?
I saw the remastered version of Oldboy the other day, and it was pretty awesome. I watched the movie as a teenager but it kinda became hard to find online for a while, and so I hadn't seen it in years. They extended out a fair few scenes that were nice to see as a fan, but they were better cut IMO. I definitely felt like I was going crazy for a little bit in the theater because I didn't know there was extended scenes- there was a few spots I was really questioning how the hell I forgot that until a friend next to me clued me in. Most of the extra footage just drags out preexisting scenes longer than they needed to go.
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Raging Justice
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Re: What was the last movie you've seen?
Event Horizon
This movie is fucking awesome! The main crux of the story is really intriguing (and terrifying). The performances are great. I also love some of the outer space shots. They just look beautiful, especially when you get to see the Event Horizon. There's other great looking shots too like this:
Right after I watched this I wanted to learn more about it, and I found out that there was footage cut from the final version. I now want to see whatever deleted scenes are available. I've heard that a lot of footage removed from the film was lost, which is a real shame. I'll guess we'll never get to see a full director's cut.
Anyway, this is a great sci fi/horror film that comes highly recommended. This one's gonna be one of my favorites. I have one little criticism though, but it's a spoiler:
SPOILER
The Thing (1982)
I wonder what it was like to see The Thing in 82 in a theater. The creature effects look dated to me, but I bet they were cutting edge back then and seeing this stuff on a big screen must have terrified some people. Also, the story was probably pretty fresh back then. Unfortunately, as someone watching this in 2023 I've seen the group of people trapped in a claustrophobic environment with a shape shifting monster story done so many times by so many people that it feels like old hat. I think even Futurama spoofed this for one episode. Even though I just watched The Thing for the first time ever, so much of it felt familiar That's the problem with some classics, by the time you get around to watching them they've probably already been copied a million times over or have just been referenced or parodied by everything under the sun. All that said though, I still appreciate getting to see a little piece of movie history and I still enjoyed watching this.
I'm curious as to how this compares to The Thing from Another World. Don't they have a similar story?
This movie is fucking awesome! The main crux of the story is really intriguing (and terrifying). The performances are great. I also love some of the outer space shots. They just look beautiful, especially when you get to see the Event Horizon. There's other great looking shots too like this:
Right after I watched this I wanted to learn more about it, and I found out that there was footage cut from the final version. I now want to see whatever deleted scenes are available. I've heard that a lot of footage removed from the film was lost, which is a real shame. I'll guess we'll never get to see a full director's cut.
Anyway, this is a great sci fi/horror film that comes highly recommended. This one's gonna be one of my favorites. I have one little criticism though, but it's a spoiler:
SPOILER
The Thing (1982)
I wonder what it was like to see The Thing in 82 in a theater. The creature effects look dated to me, but I bet they were cutting edge back then and seeing this stuff on a big screen must have terrified some people. Also, the story was probably pretty fresh back then. Unfortunately, as someone watching this in 2023 I've seen the group of people trapped in a claustrophobic environment with a shape shifting monster story done so many times by so many people that it feels like old hat. I think even Futurama spoofed this for one episode. Even though I just watched The Thing for the first time ever, so much of it felt familiar That's the problem with some classics, by the time you get around to watching them they've probably already been copied a million times over or have just been referenced or parodied by everything under the sun. All that said though, I still appreciate getting to see a little piece of movie history and I still enjoyed watching this.
I'm curious as to how this compares to The Thing from Another World. Don't they have a similar story?