Movies You've Watched Recently

Saw The Good Dinosaur. Movie was just okay but damn the scenery and animation were gorgeous. Other than that, there's nothing Land Before Time didn't do better, with the exception of this triceratops character you at least should check out on Youtube. 

Also the movie kind of implied the T-Rexes  did incest. I'm not sure how to feel about that.

I rented Star Wars The Force Awakens on Blu ray from Gamefly since I am busy with the Ratchet so won't really be playing another game at the moment. I haven't gotten the chance to watch it yet. Want to watch with my brother, so need to find a time where we can both watch it.

Watched The Force Awakens and really enjoyed it. BB-8 is adorable. He was cracking me up.

Saw The Jungle Book. Definitely recommend seeing this one in theaters, it was a great movie that did an amazing job making everything feel big and epic. Also Bill Murray as Baloo is perfect

Oh yeah, saw the new Captain America. Didn't like it. Winter Soldier it definitely wasn't.

Positive point: probably my favorite portrayal of Spiderman in the movies

I liked it a lot but Winter Soldier was definitely better. That airport fight was so much fun and I liked how involved all the characters were with their own unique motivations. Plus had some great grey morality and a jaw dropping twist

I saw Civil War last week. I thought it was a fun movie, but I don't get anywhere near as excited about these super hero movies as I used to. I also thought the new Spiderman was the best part. I only really liked the original Spiderman movie so it was fun to see someone play the character with some actual enthusiasm. I thought that Andrew Garfield seemed bored in the latest reboot.

I also watched Deadpool again since it came out on blu ray and I enjoyed it every bit as much as I did the first time. Just gleefully over the top and ridiculous. I know some don't like the character but the movie is so well done.

The airport fight was the best part of the movie, but tonally felt like it belonged in a different movie. Did anyone else feel that way?

On its own it did feel a bit that way but when stacked as a part of the MCU, it doesn't feel out of place at all. This is a universe where Caps 2 and Incredible Hulk can happen alongside Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor.

I guess that summarizes my frustration with these Marvel movies as a whole though. They're so focused on building their universe that they seem unconcerned with making good standalone movies.

I guess it's because I'm into comics (especially Marvel comics) that it never bothers me. I see all these movies being much better as the sum of their parts. I wouldn't give Thor 2 a second look normally but knowing it deals with Loki's fallout after Avengers and builds towards something bigger, I can rewatch that movie over and over again. It's like a TV series for me now, these are episodes and some will be better than others, but in the big picture it's something really great and exciting.

Though I feel that airstrip fight is less unconcerned about a good movie and more in the mindset of they established things like this can exist in a universe where things as bleak as what preceded and followed it happen so we can fit this in thanks to the other goofier movies. I get not everyone can get in that mindset but that's just how I saw it

Felt the airport fight belonged. The buildup to it was tremendous and for a film that had a stronger air of melancholy than any Marvel film, it provided some levity (and not just from Spiderman) despite the fact that it splits the Avengers apart and sets up the darker, more personal 3rd act.

There's just something special about the Captain America films. Cap's arc through them is just the most captivating. Civil War provided a much-needed turnaround for Stark as well. The scene between Rogers and Stark just talking it out (and getting so close to Rogers signing the Initiative before it goes to shit) is so wonderful.

I'm in awe of the film, really. The way it balances spectacle, drama and ideas is such a Herculean effort.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. But you in general tend to get more behind these superhero movies than I do.

Been renting some movies from Gamefly since I have been busy with games I actually bought and wouldn't make time for much else. Here are the three I checked out so far.

The Forest: This wasn't very good. There were some sections in the middle that had some psychological elements that I liked and the look of the forest was pretty good, but otherwise... blah.

Catching Fire: This was enjoyable. The action was fun in the back half and the beginning wasn't as poorly paced as in the book. I kind of missed the foreshadowing about District 13 and the whole plan that were in the book though. And one of my favorite moments, when Peeta mentions the baby, didn't seem to land as well as it did in the book. I'm going to check out next two soon. I can't imagine how they made a movie out of the first half of Book 3.

Deadpool: My brother really wanted to see this, so I rented it for him and decided to watch it. I had really low expectations. I don't usually liked fourth wall-breaking stuff and the juvenile humor was kind of a turnoff. But I kind of liked it. It had more funny moments than I expected though some gags went a little long or were too over the top for my taste. Better than I expected though.

We pretty much agree completely on Deadpool Trip. To me I was glad I watched it just for the Stan Lee cameo which I don't think will ever be topped

Saw The Nice Guys and Finding Dory. The Nice Guys was great. Humor was spot on, it had an interesting but bizarre mystery, characters were fun, and it had its own unique style. Outside a pretty hammy arc between Russell Crowe and the preteen girl I wouldn't change a thing.

Finding Dory surprised me. Had a slow start and felt like it was going to rehash the last movie but they get to where they need to go fairly quickly and it then does its own thing. Won't spoil how because it's a good twist but I thought it gave the movie its own fun spin on a pretty limiting concept (finding a fish). Humor worked well too and had great performances by Kaitlin Olson, Ty Burrell, and especially Ed O'Neil

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi: Missed this in the theaters (as it turns out, many did) but I really did enjoy Michael Bay's attempt at a Black Hawk Down-like war film. It benefits from a really good script and a good ensemble of character actors (James Badge Dale in particular) and while it runs a little long, it's never boring. Very violent, a decent amount of humor and very affecting for a Bay film.

Batman V Superman (3-hour, R-rated cut): Just finished this one. I know I'm alone in actually enjoying the theatrical cut but I've been looking forward to this one. Pre-ordered it through my Xbox 360. The extra 30 minutes make a HUGE difference as the majority of the footage irons out plot points that I even found difficult to understand/debate/theorize. More attention is spent on Superman/Clark Kent (something that I felt was lost in previous cut), certain aspects of Luthor's behind-the-scenes string pulling is fleshed out (especially the bombing sequence). The pacing feels better too.

Definitely the definitive cut. While I understand that WB would balk at releasing a 3-hour superhero film, I do feel that this cut would've been better received. That said, those who aren't crazy about Synder's approach (especially when it comes to tone) may not be swayed by this one. When it becomes available to rent in a few weeks, I'd recommend giving the 3-hour cut a try.

I definitely want to rent it to see if I'd think the bad is really that bad a second go and to see if there's any way to salvage it. Despite thinking it's terrible I was entertained by it even if it was for all the wrong reasons

Heard the longer cut would be the better version so held out to see that one instead. Will have to rent it and see.

Watched Finding Dory and thought it was better than Finding Nemo. Maybe not a better movie, but a more enjoyable one if that makes any sense.

I watched The Witch this week. It was pretty good. I don't know, this may have been a case of having my expectations in the wrong place. So hyped up to me and I was told to not know anything about it, which I can appreciate, so I just watched it going in blind, but perhaps I was expecting something different. Not sure. I guess it just didn't strike me as "the best horror movie in years!" It probably didn't help that I couldn't understand their accents that well!

That's pretty much exactly how I feel about every horror movie that gets lots of hype. Minus the accents bit

The Witch is not a horror film though, it's a (in my opinion) very good drama with creepy elements. It wasn't marketed that way though

Saw Mike and Dave need Wedding Dates. It was stupid and pacing was shit, but there were some funny bits in it. Wouldn't recommend it unless you just want something you can shut your brain off for to pass an hour and a half.

Finally watched Ant-man. Not sure how much of it was just because he's a new superhero to me, but I really enjoyed it for the simple reason that it made being Ant-man look like a ton of fun. The MCU tie-ins were pretty forced at times but the fights had lots of cool uses of powers that I haven't seen in a movie before.

Ant-Man's in my top 3 MCU movies, behind only Captain America 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy. Think it's a really underrated movie, though I think not knowing the character is the way to go in because Michael Douglas' character is the original Ant-Man in the comics (who also is the real creator of Ultron. Kind of wish they had Ant-Man before AoU so they could have worked that in as a freak accident rather than Tony Stark doing the self-fulfilling prophecy crap).

Watched Goosebumps tonight. Fun movie, cheesy as hell but it knows it's cheesy and has fun with it. Jack Black did a really good job as Slappy the Dummy especially, thought they got Mark Hamill to voice him for a second with how much he sounded like the Joker (which I feel is a good way to interpret that character). If you're there for Goosebumps nostalgia, there's a good amount of it though you may wonder where the monsters from Give Yourself Goosebumps and his newer books are in it over the Horrorland monsters or Monster Blood. Still, worth checking out on Netflix, especially if it's still there October.

Saw Star Trek Beyond with my family last weekend. We all enjoyed it. I think its the best of the reboot films so far. It isn't burdened with having to sell you with the actors playing classic roles or trying to setup the universe. And while Idris Elba's villain isn't as compelling as I hoped (hell, Cumberbatch's Kahn made me feel something even though he was a monster - and poorly handled script-wise), the plot as a whole is solid enough because it places more emphasis on the main crew and their relationships. I do hope Sofia Boutella's character returns; she did such a great job.

I watched it last night and thought it was the best of the three also. Felt Into Darkness tried too hard for a complex plot that ended up being confusing and full of holes (even though I still like the movie) while this kept things simple and was better for it. Looking forward to seeing if there were any sequels.

Also really nice touch that it felt like they were paying respects to Leonard Nimoy throughout the movie.

Saw Suicide Squad. I think I liked it. Pretty fun for the most part, Will Smith and Margot Robbie are great leads, and had an amazing soundtrack, but there are a few bits that are awful, no one acknowledges they created the conflict of the plot and this is such an ugly movie. The Joker didn't work either and I don't know what they were thinking when they showed how Batman caught Harley. Also have no clue why they didn't call Batman and the Flash to solve this instead.

Checked out the Invasion of the Body Snatchers remake since T-Wolf and Avid were saying it was great. Wasn't disappointed, more creepy than scary but I dug that more. Really enjoyed Donald Sutherland and Leonard Nimoy's performances especially. Had a great ending too. Kind of forgot how those times were so anti-communism though so I was caught off guard for a second with how the pod people were metaphors for us being infiltrated by reds.