movies

Reign of Fire (2002), starring Matthew McConaughey and Christian Bale, is such a disappointment.

This movie had a fresh, awesome idea—a post-apocalyptic world ruled by dragons. Imagine that: dragons returning to our modern world, wreaking havoc, destroying everything in their path. Humanity is left in ruins, struggling to survive against the new apex predator. We’re just lunch meat.

What a fantastic setup. So how does it all go wrong?

The biggest issue is the world-building. There’s an old adage: show, don’t tell. Post-apocalyptic films work because we see the world as it is now, the ruins of what came before. That’s why Mad Max is so effective. Hell, even Waterworld, for all its flaws, succeeds in world-building. But Reign of Fire? No.

At times, it hints at the idea of a modern world reverting to medieval-like society, which could have been fascinating. But they don’t show any of it. We don’t see the broader world. London? Never shown. The devastation? Barely glimpsed. The entire movie is cooped up in a little castle, and we never get a sense of the scale of destruction.

Now, the dragons themselves? Cool, no doubt. But again, we don’t see enough of them. We’re told how they work, but we don’t get to see it in action nearly enough.

Then there’s McConaughey’s character. He’s introduced as this badass dragon slayer—a tactical expert who knows how to take the fight to them. But when we actually see him in action? What a letdown. You’re telling me this guy somehow got from the U.S. to the U.K. with troops, tanks, and even a helicopter… and yet, he completely fumbles when it counts? If you’re going to give us dragon hunters, at least make them competent. And for God’s sake, show us how he got there. How did they cross the Atlantic? That’s something I’d love to see. Instead, they skip over it entirely and expect us to just accept it.

It’s not just the plot, though. The cinematography is a mess. Whatever color filter they used makes everything so dark, I can barely see what’s happening. I get that they’re going for a certain mood, but come on—I shouldn’t have to crank up my TV’s brightness just to make out what’s on screen. If I’m struggling to see the movie, I’m struggling to stay engaged.

One thing I will praise, though, is the sound design. Watching this on DVD reminded me why I still keep my collection. The audio mix is so much better than what you get on streaming platforms like Netflix. My home theater system makes a difference, and I plan to keep using it until the whole setup dies.

This movie was supposed to get a sequel, but I think audiences rejected it for the same reasons I did. It had tremendous potential. Personally, I’d love to see someone else tackle the idea of dragons bringing about the apocalypse. It’s just a fantastic concept. But next time, actually show the destruction. Let us see dragons taking on armies, facing off against modern military power. How would they handle something like a nuclear bomb?

That’s what makes Godzilla so compelling—it shows the destruction. Godzilla breathes fire. He’s practically a dragon. He doesn’t fly (well, sometimes he does), but he’s a massive, unstoppable force. The key is that we see his power firsthand.

Reign of Fire had the budget. It had the effects. It had two A-list actors—Matthew McConaughey and Christian Bale. And yet, I’ve seen B-movies with better world-building than this.

I can’t recommend Reign of Fire. Skip this one.

https://youtu.be/Xd2hHvq-SEA

@movies@piefed.social

Finally bought a Blu-Ray player today.

Why? Because my old DVD player finally kicked the bucket. It no longer reads discs.

Meanwhile, just saw a Sony Blu-Ray player at Value Village selling for $15. And it plays SACDs, which is pretty important to me since I own several of them.

Now you might be wondering, “Why are you bothering with physical discs when we live in the age of streaming?”

First of all, I own several DVDs—many which aren’t available on any streaming platform. And I still want to watch them.

But the other, most important reason has nothing to do with video but, rather, audio: Netflix sucks for audio mixing. Dialogue is always muffled. So I end up turning the video up only to be blasted when something big like an explosion happens.

You know what? That’s never been a problem with physical discs. I can actually hear people when they talk.

And despite the fact that Blu-Ray is 19-years-old, it still has a better bitrate than Netflix. Further, it requires no Internet to function—which means nothing will be interrupted if my router or ISP suddenly stop working.

It’s a good time to invest in Blu-Ray.

@movies

Miss Willoughby and the Haunted Bookshop (2021) is a British mystery movie.

It doesn’t do anything new. It follows a lot of tropes, yet I had a fun time watching it.

I often play a video game genre known as hidden object games (HOGs). These are almost always mystery games, sometimes with supernatural themes. The gameplay involves combing through areas, looking for clues, and solving riddles. They’re very popular, particularly on PC and mobile, and are primarily played by middle-aged women. If you’re a younger man, you might not even be aware they exist because they never get console releases. One of the biggest producers of HOGs is Big Fish Games.

Why mention hidden object games? Because Miss Willoughby and the Haunted Bookshop is the movie equivalent of one. The film follows an intrepid amateur detective who talks to people, searches for clues, and pieces together a mystery. It’s a film that appeals primarily to middle-aged women.

The advertisements compare it to Miss Marple, but there’s a world of difference between them. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster, whereas Miss Willoughby is more like Lara Croft—young, dashing, skilled in kung fu, boxing, and a host of martial arts. She lives in a vast estate, works as a university professor specializing in classical antiquities, and has written numerous books. On top of that, she is breathtakingly beautiful—not in a way that appeals to the male gaze, but in a way that is aspirational to the women watching. She serves as a vehicle for the viewer’s own fantasies.

And you know what? I’m not complaining. This kind of character serves a need. It’s something a lot of people want to see, and it’s why this style of protagonist will never go out of fashion. But unlike Lara Croft, who scours the world for treasure, Miss Willoughby—closer to Miss Marple but as sharp as Sherlock Holmes—arrives on the case when one of her family’s dearest friends swears that her bookshop is haunted. She claims to see visions of her dead father. Is she going crazy? Is she hallucinating? Or is something more dastardly afoot? That’s what we aim to find out.

Shoutout to Natalie Cox, who plays Miss Willoughby. She’s best known for the Mr. Mayfair films, also largely written and directed by Philip Martinez. Interestingly, she has a strong connection to video games—she played Juno Eclipse in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and its sequel, as well as a recurring role in the F1 racing games. It’s funny that I compare this film to video games, considering her background.

Miss Willoughby has her own version of Watson, a former Marine and doting guardian played by Kelsey Grammer. Grammer does an amazing job, bringing humor, restraint, and nuance to the role. He knows when to step back and when to show concern at just the right moments. The supporting cast is also excellent.

The film feels like Miss Willoughby is walking into a lion’s den—or a lioness’s den—since much of the supporting cast consists of women in a book club. And these women are vicious. One is a gossip who knows every town secret, another specializes in backhanded compliments, the kind that sound polite but drip with venom.

Now, we already know how these films turn out. This one presents a mystery that’s meant to be solved. The film never strays from formula, yet it executes that formula well.

The film implies that Miss Willoughby was meant to be a series, but it was released in 2021, and there’s been no sequel or announcement of one. I think this is it—no franchise, just a single film.

Another question you might ask: Is this based on a book series? No. This is an original property. So, if you want more Miss Willoughby, unfortunately, this is all there is.

Do I recommend Miss Willoughby and the Haunted Bookshop? If you enjoy mysteries with a touch of archaicism, a bit of aspirational fantasy, and something aimed at middle-aged women, then yes, I do. It’s delightful, it’s fun, and it’s too bad there won’t be more.

https://youtu.be/l/_1UpfQJkRU

@movies

Just watched it. Good trippy thriller, and a tight 90 minutes. Don't want to say too much about it, it's one of those movies you're better off going in blind for.

If anyone else has seen it, any other similar movies you'd recommend?

Me and two friends had "classic movie nights" for a couple of years before I moved away. We would watch something which is considered a classic and it had to have been released before 2000. We watched only those which none of us three have seen before and we would watch it like once every two months or so. Movies like:

• M
• Gone with the Wind
• The Godfather
• Taxi Driver
• Murder on the Orient Express
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
• Rear Window
• Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
• Chinatown
• Le Grande Bouffe
• L'Avventura
• Tengoku to jigoku
• etc.

It was a ton of fun and we talked about the movie before, what our expectations are and after just generally and each of us would give it a IMDB star rating.

Now sadly my friends live 9 time zones away, so we can't really do that anymore. But I was thinking to try to convince my wife to do this classic movies night with me. Right now she is reluctant because English is her 4rth language and especially older movies are using language differently too, but one day she will give in :D.

Anyway, now that you know the rules, what movies do you think I still missed and should watch?

Odd Thomas (2013) is certainly an odd movie, and it never lets you forget that.

It’s a film adaptation of Dean Koontz’s novel, also called Odd Thomas, which is part of an eight-book series—an entire literary universe. The story follows a clairvoyant who can communicate with the dead and solves crimes in the process. Specifically, he speaks to the dead to uncover crimes committed by the living.

Typically, films targeting this kind of subject matter lean into a dark, brooding antihero. But what I found refreshing about Odd Thomas is that the main character is a sunny, optimistic guy who loves his town and his girlfriend.

Anton Yelchin, the late actor, plays Odd Thomas, and it’s clear in this role just how much potential he had. He oozes charm and likability. Willem Dafoe, as the town’s local police chief, provides both humor and gravity. I also have to give credit to the love interest, played by Ashley Summers, who sees past Odd Thomas’s oddities and recognizes him as a man with a heart of gold.

What fascinates me about this movie are two things. First, it had a $27 million budget but was a complete dud at the box office, earning only $1.3 million. I remember when the movie came out, I was completely unaware of it. There were no trailers, no advertisements—I don’t even think I saw it in theaters. Apparently, the film faced a lot of legal trouble and delays, but it found an appreciative audience once it hit Blu-ray and streaming services.

The second notable thing is how polarizing the film is. Critics didn’t like it; it has a 37% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which means it’s deemed “rotten” there. However, on IMDb, it has a 6.8/10, and on Letterboxd, it’s rated 3.1/5. There’s a broad disagreement between critics and the audience. Why the discrepancy? I think critics were expecting something scary and ominous, but fans of the Odd Thomas books know that this isn't supposed to be horror. It’s a light, sunny movie with dark undertones. What’s interesting is that critics who are familiar with the books agree with the audience—they understand the tone and feel of the story. Unfortunately, many critics approached it with preconceived ideas about what the film should be, rather than letting it exist on its own terms.

That’s a shame because the world of Odd Thomas is fantastic. It’s a unique, enjoyable, and fun exercise in world-building. The ghosts and supernatural elements can be creepy, but it’s Odd Thomas’s understanding of this world and his humor that makes it a fun romp. Anton Yelchin sells it perfectly.

The real tragedy of this movie is that it bombed at the box office, meaning we won’t get adaptations of the next seven books. Even if Odd Thomas had been a success, we likely wouldn’t have seen the rest of the series, because Anton Yelchin, who essentially made the film work, tragically passed away in 2016. That’s too bad because Odd Thomas was an original idea, and in a world dominated by remakes and superhero franchises, it could have been a great supernatural franchise, much like Harry Potter. If you love Harry Potter, you’d probably love Odd Thomas.

One good thing that came from watching Odd Thomas is that I now want to read Dean Koontz’s books. I’ve never read one before, but after seeing this movie, I’m interested in checking out the Odd Thomas series. The whole series is available on Amazon for about $90, and I’m seriously considering picking it up.

Do I recommend this movie? Absolutely. It’s fun and could be something you share with older children (over 10 years old) or teens. It would also make a wonderful date movie. Check out Odd Thomas—it’s fantastic.

https://youtu.be/UbHQ/_Rk-T1Q

@movies

Hey all, welcome to Piefed's first movie community!

A little bit about why I created this community: a mod on !movies@lemmy.world removed two comments of mine with no explanation. When I asked that mod why my comment was removed, he wouldn't tell me why. He instead called me an "ass".

I feel it's very important for community members to be respected by mods. If a comment is removed, it's a mod's duty to explain exactly why and what rule was broken, and to state so in a professional manner.

So it's my explicit promise to all of you that no comments or posts will be removed for arbitrary or opaque reasons. All moderators here will be transparent and fair. When action is taken, moderators here will provide explanations in a coherent and respectful manner.

With all that said, I'm excited to talk about movies!