What Is The Last Film You Watched? (Newer Films)

[Chen G. 3,949]

53 minutes ago, publicist said:

There should be a quota, like no fanboy shall devote himself to more than 10 mentions per trilogy/month.

 

I'm not a fanboy of any particular franchise. I'm a fan of good cinema. In my activity on this board, I've probably mentioned Braveheart twice as often than The Middle Earth films.

 

Like I said once, I'm not convinced that anyone ever convinced anyone of anything on JWFan; and that's perfectly natural: humans are stubborn bastards. So, I'm not out to change anyone's mind. I'm just trying to create a more nuanced discussion, perhaps with less strong, one-sided opinions; but more importantly still, I'm trying to make people - even those with a strong dislike to a film, to understand where others are coming from when they earenstly defend that film; and vice versa. I certainly see where a lot of these criticisms are coming from; and I suppose a lot of the participants in this discussion can at least see my point, as well, even if they don't necessarily agree with them.

 

I'm not of the opinion that film, at least a dramatic one, is an abstract and totally subjective form of art. But there's nothing, in the internet's culture of discussing films, that I dislike as much as people dooming not just films but also the people who like them. No-one should be ashamed of liking a film, if they can explain their enjoyment of it rationally. In a way, the film itself is secondary to the logic used in defending or criticizing it.

[Glóin the Dark 1,220]

What is the best trilogy?

• The Hobbit trilogy
• The The Lord of the Rings trilogy
• The original Star Wars trilogy
• The Star Wars prequel trilogy
• The Back to the Future trilogy
• The first three Bourne films trilogy
• The Godfather trilogy
• The Cavalry trilogy
• The Dollars trilogy
• The Care Bears trilogy
• The Apu trilogy
• The Noriko trilogy
• The Three Colours trilogy
• Guadagnino's Desire trilogy
• Von Trier's Depression trilogy
• The Girl Who Kept Getting into a Right Pickle trilogy

[Chen G. 3,949]

Just now, Glóin the Dark said:

The The Lord of the Rings trilogy

 

That is all.

[publicist 4,643]

3 minutes ago, Chen G. said:

I'm not a fanboy of any particular franchise. I'm a fan of good cinema. I've probably mentioned Braveheart twice as often than The Hobbit.

 

You're in a jokey mood today, i see.

[Holko 9,519]

Where's the Indiana Jones Trilogy?

[Chen G. 3,949]

He's probably counting that as a tetralogy due to, well, that film.

[Glóin the Dark 1,220]

1 minute ago, Holko said:

Where's the Indiana Jones Trilogy?

 

That's not a trilogy - that's three good films plus the Temple of Doom!

[Holko 9,519]

Oh, but The First Three Bourne Films Trilogy counts?

[KK 3,307]

16 minutes ago, Chen G. said:

 

I'm not a fanboy of any particular franchise. I'm a fan of good cinema. In my activity on this board, I've probably mentioned Braveheart twice as often than The Middle Earth films.

 

Like I said once, I'm not convinced that anyone ever convinced anyone of anything on JWFan; and that's perfectly natural: humans are stubborn bastards. So, I'm not out to change anyone's mind. I'm just trying to create a more nuanced discussion, perhaps with less strong, one-sided opinions; but more importantly still, I'm trying to make people - even those with a strong dislike to a film, to understand where others are coming from when they earenstly defend that film; and vice versa. I certainly see where a lot of these criticisms are coming from; and I suppose a lot of the participants in this discussion can at least see my point, as well, even if they don't necessarily agree with them.

 

I'm not of the opinion that film, at least a dramatic one, is an abstract and totally subjective form of art. But there's nothing, in the internet's culture of discussing films, that I dislike as much as people dooming not just films but also the people who like them. No-one should be ashamed of liking a film, if they can explain their enjoyment of it rationally. In a way, the film itself is secondary to the logic used in defending or criticizing it.

 

I don't think you were around here Chen when these films came out. Trust me, they've been discussed, argued, reasoned, defended and flailed to death, and with great nuance, as per your concern. You should have been here before the release of AUJ. When that first teaser came out, with those 90 seconds of Shore music to boot, we were all buzzing with excitement, ready to welcome the Second Coming. Even Lee was over the moon for it. And then wave by wave, with each passing installment, we tried to justify the films and our reactions to them (trust me, every angle you could possibly think of has been argued for, and refuted in the hundreds of threads in the Tolkien subforum) and ultimately came to a collective resignation to the colossal fuck-up that it was. Which sadly enough, was something PJ himself would acknowledge in public.

 

Ultimately, the Hobbit films have occasional moments and can even make for passable entertainment (the third one aside), but they are by no means good cinema.

 

 

[Glóin the Dark 1,220]

2 minutes ago, Holko said:

Oh, but The First Three Bourne Films Trilogy counts?

 

Sure! There are three films in the "The First Three Bourne Films" set...

[Quintus 5,399]

3 hours ago, KK said:

Heavenly Creatures is easily PJ's best film outside of LOTR. Not even close.

 

This.

[Nick1Ø66 4,711]

 

1 minute ago, Quintus said:

 

This.

 

That.

[Chen G. 3,949]

8 minutes ago, KK said:

Ultimately, the Hobbit films has occasional moments and can even make for passable entertainment (the third one aside), but they are by no means good cinema.

 

I would argue that they range from good to very good between the three of them, and I have my logic to back this up. You disagree, that's fair. That's exactly where subjectivity enters the picture: not so much in identifying what merits and demerits a film has, but in assesing their weight on the whole.

 

Its true of all but the truly atrocious movies. Even though I've just poked fun at Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I can see where some viewers would be coming from, were they to stand up and defend it, as long as they explain why they liked it in a way that's coherent.

 

Can you really not do the same here?

[Nick1Ø66 4,711]

 

3 hours ago, KK said:

 

AUJ remains the best Hobbit film.

 

And this.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I've only seen the second one.

[Chen G. 3,949]

You've seen the best one.

 

Its the only one of the sextet that I can just pop-in and watch.

 

The Lord of the Rings films I almost never watch unless I'm watching the whole thing from beginning to end.

[publicist 4,643]

2 minutes ago, Chen G. said:

 

I would argue that they range from good to very good between the three of them, and I have my logic to back this up. You disagree, that's fair. That's exactly where subjectivity enters the picture: not so much in identifying what merits and demerits a film has, but in assesing their weight on the whole.

 

Its true of all but the truly atrocious movies. Even though I've just poked fun at Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I can see where some viewers would be coming from, were they to stand up and defend it, as long as they explain why they liked it in a way that's coherent.

 

Can you really not do the same here?

 

Maybe all this would be easier to take if you once in a while would seriously discuss a film beyond glossy Hollywood product ca. 1990 upwards. It would add a bit of interest and you wouldn't have to squander all those mighty words on so transparently irrelevant compromised, commercial pictures which are often enough frowned upon even by their makers.

 

Or maybe i'm wrong, but i always see your name popping up in these contexts.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Sadly, the Hobbit films are best forgotten.

[Chen G. 3,949]

10 minutes ago, publicist said:

glossy Hollywood [...] transparently irrelevant, compromised, commercial pictures

 

Although I've studied film theory, I'm a very casual filmgoer. I don't watch many films per year, and I usually only watch the big films. There's nothing wrong with that. Professional film critics, in particular, suffer from having to watch so many films each year, that it becomes more of a chore than a passion.

 

I profoundly disagree that big, contemporary Hollywood productions are in any way less artistic or dramatically effective than smaller and/or older films. If anything, it were such films as The Lord of the Rings trilogy that proved that the grandeur and scale of the film and the production can also inform the grandeur of the drama taking place.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Just now, Chen G. said:

 

Although I've studied film, I'm a very casual filmgoer. I don't watch many films per year, and I usually only watch the big films. There's nothing wrong with that.

 

I don't really go to the cinema much at all these days, but I still watch hundreds of films per year.

[Sweeping Strings 2,355]

23 hours ago, JoeinAR said:

People were absolutely silent in my theatre. They still but I couldnt hear that. I could see others jumping with the rest of us-out of the corner of my eye. 

Seriously this new generation of soft sissies who are afraid to go the movies. You are what abortions are necessary for.

This 'soft sissy' is 47 and isn't 'afraid' to go to the movies, he's just pissed off at what he sees as a decline in the general courtesy (we've all paid good money to see the movie, therefore we've all got the right to watch it as 'undisturbed' by others as possible) shown by some audience members to their fellow patrons. And yes, I know that I could wait for the DVD/on-demand release ... but it's just not the same as the big screen, is it?  

I'd thank you not to repeat the suggestion that I would've been better off aborted. Completely fucking uncalled for.  

[publicist 4,643]

2 minutes ago, Chen G. said:

Although I've studied film theory, I'm a very casual filmgoer. I don't watch many films per year, and I usually only watch the big films. There's nothing wrong with that. Professional film critics, in particular, suffer from having to watch so many films each year, that it becomes more of a chore than a passion.

 

Wait...you *studied* film and that's the result? Laboring over Hobbit and Star Wars movies? What kind of movies beyond those you had to acquaint yourself with in your studies?

[Quintus 5,399]

The Private Popsicle series.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,515]

The HOBBIT films aren't the three best films ever made, that's for sure, but...anything with Doctor #7 in it, is worth watching.

[Tom 4,652]

2 hours ago, Richard said:

The HOBBIT films aren't the three best films ever made, that's for sure, but...anything with Doctor #7 in it, is worth watching.

Except, ironically, the actual Dr. Who episodes from his era.

 

Settle down, I am kidding (though The Happiness Patrol is dreadful). 

[Nick1Ø66 4,711]

I recently re-watched Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy.  What did you guys think of them?

 

Discuss.

[Glóin the Dark 1,220]

They needed more of the Tauriel and Fili storyline.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

6 hours ago, Sweeping Strings said:

This 'soft sissy' is 47 and isn't 'afraid' to go to the movies, he's just pissed off at what he sees as a decline in the general courtesy (we've all paid good money to see the movie, therefore we've all got the right to watch it as 'undisturbed' by others as possible) shown by some audience members to their fellow patrons. And yes, I know that I could wait for the DVD/on-demand release ... but it's just not the same as the big screen, is it?  

I'd thank you not to repeat the suggestion that I would've been better off aborted. Completely fucking uncalled for.  

If you followed this thread you would realize that I was just responding to your post but I was not calling you or referring to you as a soft Sissy, look around the other post near yours and you'll see who I'm talking about and I am absolutely fine with calling for their post-birth abortions. 

[John 2,032]

Here's my take on the Hobbit trilogy:

 

An Unexpected Journey was way too long, but I thought it was a mostly satisfying return to Middle-earth with likeable characters and a lighthearted atmosphere.

 

Desolation of Smaug had higher highs than Journey, but its lows really showed the cracks in the storytelling that became way too reliant on weightless CGI to fill the screen with nonsense.

 

Battle of the Five Armies is all just that. It's just little bits of story spread thin, and just weightless CGI. It has moments of great acting and emotional scenes, but sadly, it almost completely drops the ball when it comes to being a self-contained, coherent, and enjoyable movie on its own.

[Chen G. 3,949]

5 hours ago, John said:

Battle of the Five Armies is all just that.

 

The Battle doesn’t start until the midpoint.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

Oh, crap, I thought I stumbled into the Tolkien subforum for the first time.

 

Is this what that place is like? I'd rather get an lobotomy in a back alley from an orangutan holding a butter knife and a Polaroid.

[John 2,032]

7 hours ago, Chen G. said:

The Battle doesn’t start until the midpoint.

 

I'm talking about the film as a whole, not just the battle.

 

12 hours ago, John said:

Battle of the Five Armies is all just that. It's just little bits of story spread thin, and just weightless CGI.

 

I know you disagree, and that's fine, but BOTFA is just not a very good movie. Which is a shame, because even as flawed as the first Hobbit was, the first hour did so much to build up the dynamics and heart between the dwarves, Gandalf, and Bilbo. And then you get to BOTFA, and all of that has been flushed away in service of empty CGI spectacle.

 

Last time I rewatched the trilogy, I enjoyed the first two and I genuinely believe they're fine movies. The third one killed all my enthusiasm, and I haven't revisited the trilogy since.

[Jay 37,346]

On 4/9/2018 at 3:46 PM, JoeinAR said:

People were absolutely silent in my theatre. They still but I couldnt hear that. I could see others jumping with the rest of us-out of the corner of my eye. 

Seriously this new generation of soft sissies who are afraid to go the movies. You are what abortions are necessary for.

 

19 hours ago, Sweeping Strings said:

This 'soft sissy' is 47 and isn't 'afraid' to go to the movies, he's just pissed off at what he sees as a decline in the general courtesy (we've all paid good money to see the movie, therefore we've all got the right to watch it as 'undisturbed' by others as possible) shown by some audience members to their fellow patrons. And yes, I know that I could wait for the DVD/on-demand release ... but it's just not the same as the big screen, is it?  

I'd thank you not to repeat the suggestion that I would've been better off aborted. Completely fucking uncalled for.  

 

12 hours ago, JoeinAR said:

If you followed this thread you would realize that I was just responding to your post but I was not calling you or referring to you as a soft Sissy, look around the other post near yours and you'll see who I'm talking about and I am absolutely fine with calling for their post-birth abortions. 

 

Sorry @JoeinAR, I agree with @Sweeping Strings... too far man, too far.  No one wants to read that.

[A24 4,331]

Why would anyone be afraid to go the theatre? Is it unsafe these days? 

[Chen G. 3,949]

52 minutes ago, John said:

I know you disagree, and that's fine, but BOTFA is just not a very good movie. Which is a shame, because even as flawed as the first Hobbit was, the first hour did so much to build up the dynamics and heart between the dwarves, Gandalf, and Bilbo. And then you get to BOTFA, and all of that has been flushed away in service of empty CGI spectacle.

 

Last time I rewatched the trilogy, I enjoyed the first two and I genuinely believe they're fine movies. The third one killed all my enthusiasm, and I haven't revisited the trilogy since.

 

Well, it does suffer from the trappings of a concluding film, which tend not to be all that great, in the same way that the first film suffers from the trappings of an establishing film in terms of pace.

 

But, to my mind, even if the CG is not convincing, the battle itself isn't empty because it does leverage some good drama. The relationship between Bilbo and the Dwarves pays off multiple times, such as when Bofur allows Bilbo to leave, no questions asked; and especially when Bilbo attests to the character of the Dwarves' in front of Thranduil and Bard. Even a small moment like Dwalin, who we last see try to follow Thorin as he walks into Azog's trap, coming back to help Bilbo as Bolg arrives.

 

Its also kind of an extension of Thorin's inner struggle, or at least a cause of tension within the company, due to Thorin's refusal to get involved. One of the reasons I've said that I've grown to like Dwalin more on rewatches was that I noticed that he has one of the most well-defined individual arcs of all the Dwarves: he moves from being Thorin's most blindly-loyal follower, to standing up to him. That happens because of the battle. And of course, once the company does get involved, it pays off the animosity of Thorin and Azog, as well.

 

The main thing that gets short-changed is actually Thranduil's personal story, in favor of Tauriel's romance. But both of those were secondary storylines from the outset, and do not take a lot of the film's running time either way. I do mind that their stories conclude after Thorin's death. As Lindsay pointed out, it kind of dilutes the drama. But it certainly doesn't undermine it for me entirely.

 

But, as you said, we disagree, and that's fine.

[crocodile 8,000]

1 hour ago, Alexcremers said:

Why would anyone be afraid to go the theatre? Is it unsafe these days? 

Well, only if you live in America.

 

Karol

[JoeinAR 1,949]

20 hours ago, crocodile said:

Well, only if you live in America.

 

Karol

No. Get a fucking clue.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Can he phone a friend?

[Sweeping Strings 2,355]

On 11/04/2018 at 2:25 AM, JoeinAR said:

If you followed this thread you would realize that I was just responding to your post but I was not calling you or referring to you as a soft Sissy, look around the other post near yours and you'll see who I'm talking about and I am absolutely fine with calling for their post-birth abortions. 

That's OK then, sorry for the misinterpretation. 

[JoeinAR 1,949]

On 4/11/2018 at 9:17 AM, Jay said:

 

 

 

Sorry @JoeinAR, I agree with @Sweeping Strings... too far man, too far.  No one wants to read that.

I weep for you.

[Nick1Ø66 4,711]

On 4/11/2018 at 3:37 PM, Alexcremers said:

Why would anyone be afraid to go the theatre? Is it unsafe these days? 

 

Not really. But in Lincoln's day it was a bitch.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,344]

"It used to be a lot worse. They had this giant hammer!...oh look, they brought it back!"

[Fancyarcher 350]

Isle of Dogs - Anderson's latest stop-motion offering may not hit the highs of say Fantastic Mr. Fox, but it's still a great clever entertaining time, with memorable characters, Plus igreat animation, strong vocal performances, and some surprisingly really good political commentary. Plus it's really funny too. - 8 / 10

[filmmusic 1,826]

On 10/4/2018 at 9:32 PM, Glóin the Dark said:

What is the best trilogy?

• The Hobbit trilogy
• The The Lord of the Rings trilogy
• The original Star Wars trilogy
• The Star Wars prequel trilogy
• The Back to the Future trilogy
• The first three Bourne films trilogy
• The Godfather trilogy
• The Cavalry trilogy
• The Dollars trilogy
• The Care Bears trilogy
• The Apu trilogy
• The Noriko trilogy
• The Three Colours trilogy
• Guadagnino's Desire trilogy
• Von Trier's Depression trilogy
• The Girl Who Kept Getting into a Right Pickle trilogy

That one of course!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

No mention of the Star Trek Trilogy?

[Naïve Old Fart 9,515]

6 hours ago, Stefancos said:

No mention of the Star Trek Trilogy?

Yes.

II, III and IV should be viewed as one story.

[Sweeping Strings 2,355]

A Quiet Place - this sci-fi horror is a bit of a slow-builder, but ends up a very tense nerve-shredder. As for the audience ... aside from a teenage girl a few rows in front of me who I had to tell to put her phone away (she did it, too ... and there was no smart-mouthing and didn't take it out again during the film), they weren't too bad. 

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Congrats on a mostly positve theatre experience SS. 

[Sweeping Strings 2,355]

If I come across as a grumpily intolerant middle-aged git who's old enough to remember when people had more damn respect for their fellow patrons ... it's because I am   .

[Naïve Old Fart 9,515]

Fuckin' A!