Now Watching, Films/ movies discussion Options

[Uleni Athram]

Band of Brothers! I remember watching and following the series as a kid with Daddy Uleni and Momma Uleni back in what, 2001? Thereabouts? Since I was a kid at the time I really couldn't make any sense on what was going on, didn't know who was who and what was what. And because the show didn't pull any punches, I remember being scared out of my wits; probably had a few nightmares from that, particularly from that scene where an Allied guy was running through a forest - running away from the enemies, I think - and ended face to face with the very enemies themselves! Hooooooo boy!

It'll be fun to revisit that scene, and this series in general.

[SubRosa]

BoB was good. I was an adult when I first saw it, and I still had trouble telling who many of the characters were. The trouble is the series might have an actor in one episode, then go for 5 more episodes before featuring them again. Then I am left scratching my head and wondering who was that again?

But that last part about the American running away from the Germans, and actually running into them sounds like the movie When Trumpets Fade.

[hazmick]

I loved Band of Brothers. Watched it with my dad when I was younger, got the box set when I was old enough. Been a while since I last watched it...might remedy that.

[Uleni Athram]

BoB was good. I was an adult when I first saw it, and I still had trouble telling who many of the characters were. The trouble is the series might have an actor in one episode, then go for 5 more episodes before featuring them again. Then I am left scratching my head and wondering who was that again?

But that last part about the American running away from the Germans, and actually running into them sounds like the movie When Trumpets Fade.

Lol you were right; I looked up that movie and watched it until I found the scene that gave the kiddie me some nightmares! Looks like I jumbled different stuff together but it's all good. Now I have another movie on my list to watch (again)! Thanks SubRosa!

[Kiln]

Watching the original Twilight Zone series. Awesome series and is on Netflix so if you want some surprisingly good entertainment then this is for you!

My favorites so far are an episode where anything a man says into a tape recorder becomes reality, a camera that takes pictures of the future, and one where astronauts land on a alien planet and become a zoological attraction.

[mALX]

Havingly recently watched Jurassic Park, I decided to watch another of my all-time favourite films: Small Soldiers.

It's been years since I last watched it, and I genuinely don't know why. It's an absolutely fantastic film. The Gorgonites are brilliant(and hilarious), the Commando Elite are great entertainment, Hel, it's all just great! And that scene with the dolls is still the closest I've ever been to being scared by a film!

Also, watching it when I was a kid gave me a huge crush on Kirsten Dunst.

Even I have a crush on Kirsten Dunst, who doesn't?

Watching the original Twilight Zone series. Awesome series and is on Netflix so if you want some surprisingly good entertainment then this is for you!

My favorites so far are an episode where anything a man says into a tape recorder becomes reality, a camera that takes pictures of the future, and one where astronauts land on a alien planet and become a zoological attraction.

My favorite episode was a ship out in the ocean hearing a metal banging sound over the spot where their captain had once lost a submarine full of men in his command. (I think he saved himself at the expense of the crew) The ship's power goes out and it won't run and they keep hearing that banging.

So he sends a dive crew down; they find the sub and the remains of 11 men - and the last line of dialogue in the show = "And one of them had a hammer in his hands..."




This post has been edited by mALX: Aug 18 2016, 10:47 PM

[SubRosa]

BoB was good. I was an adult when I first saw it, and I still had trouble telling who many of the characters were. The trouble is the series might have an actor in one episode, then go for 5 more episodes before featuring them again. Then I am left scratching my head and wondering who was that again?

But that last part about the American running away from the Germans, and actually running into them sounds like the movie When Trumpets Fade.

Lol you were right; I looked up that movie and watched it until I found the scene that gave the kiddie me some nightmares! Looks like I jumbled different stuff together but it's all good. Now I have another movie on my list to watch (again)! Thanks SubRosa!

When Trumpets Fade is definitely a good one to watch again. I really loved Ron Eldard and Martin Donovan in that one, and Dwight Yoakim as the Captain. Somehow he managed to wear his steel helmet like a cowboy hat! Maybe I'll dust it off and give it a rewatch again as well.

Try watching Saints and Soldiers if you can as well. It's another nice little WWII gem. I think it was an Indie movie, so it might be hard to find. But I know Netflix has it on dvd. It spawned a couple of sequels, which were not even really sequels since they had completely different characters in completely different stories. But the first was really good.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Aug 19 2016, 02:55 AM

[Kiln]

BoB was good. I was an adult when I first saw it, and I still had trouble telling who many of the characters were. The trouble is the series might have an actor in one episode, then go for 5 more episodes before featuring them again. Then I am left scratching my head and wondering who was that again?

But that last part about the American running away from the Germans, and actually running into them sounds like the movie When Trumpets Fade.

Lol you were right; I looked up that movie and watched it until I found the scene that gave the kiddie me some nightmares! Looks like I jumbled different stuff together but it's all good. Now I have another movie on my list to watch (again)! Thanks SubRosa!

When Trumpets Fade is definitely a good one to watch again. I really loved Ron Eldard and Martin Donovan in that one, and Dwight Yoakim as the Captain. Somehow he managed to wear his steel helmet like a cowboy hat! Maybe I'll dust it off and give it a rewatch again as well.

Try watching Saints and Soldiers if you can as well. It's another nice little WWII gem. I think it was an Indie movie, so it might be hard to find. But I know Netflix has it on dvd. It spawned a couple of sequels, which were not even really sequels since they had completely different characters in completely different stories. But the first was really good.

Agreed wholeheartedly. Saints and Soldiers was a really good film that I went into with zero expectations.

[SubRosa]

Because Uleni forced me to, I watched When Trumpets Fade again today. Excellent movie about the horror of the Hurtgen Forest. There are no heroes. Just the living, the dead, and the soon to be dead. I love how it starts, and how it ends.

[hazmick]

Watched Suicide Squad last night. Meh.

Even for a 'superhero' film it was really fast paced, and just jumped from fight to fight without introducing the characters properly or developing them at all. They had some 'emotional' scenes shoehorned in there, and tried to show The Joker off as much as possible for whatever reason.

Deadshot and Harley Quinn were the main focus, but even they only got a couple of flashback scenes to tell their story. It's a shame because they have some really good actors in the film, and really cool comic book lore to work with, but don't make good use of them.

Other characters, like Katana, have no story at all. All she got was a couple of lines of dialogue from someone else while she sobbed in a corner. I have so many questions! Who is she? Who was her husband? why did he die? who killed him? Where does her sword come from? How does she have the sword? Why does she work for the US government? Who what when where why how?

What a wasted opportunity for what could have been a really good film.

[mALX]

Watched Suicide Squad last night. Meh.

Even for a 'superhero' film it was really fast paced, and just jumped from fight to fight without introducing the characters properly or developing them at all. They had some 'emotional' scenes shoehorned in there, and tried to show The Joker off as much as possible for whatever reason.

Deadshot and Harley Quinn were the main focus, but even they only got a couple of flashback scenes to tell their story. It's a shame because they have some really good actors in the film, and really cool comic book lore to work with, but don't make good use of them.

Other characters, like Katana, have no story at all. All she got was a couple of lines of dialogue from someone else while she sobbed in a corner. I have so many questions! Who is she? Who was her husband? why did he die? who killed him? Where does her sword come from? How does she have the sword? Why does she work for the US government? Who what when where why how?

What a wasted opportunity for what could have been a really good film.

Katana:




I think they are assuming people watching the movie came because they were huge fans of the comics where her story played out (and would have taken up an extraordinary amount of time and at huge cost to add into the film)

If you Google Katana and/or Suicide Squad (or both) you will get the whole history; and it is a huge one size-wise (with just way too much intricacies) - To tell her background would usurp this movie and make it all about one character; which I'm sure is why they felt it okay to bypass it, since most people watching would have already known it all.

[hazmick]

My point is that the film shouldn't make assumptions about audience comic book knowledge, but even someone who knows Katana would be disappointed by the sheer lack of screen time she gets. She just pops up in Suicide Squad, someone says "Oh she's coming too by the way" and then she disappears at the end without any explanation. If you cut all of her scenes out of the film and rewatched it, you'd never even notice that someone was missing.

The beauty of these characters is in their backstories and abilities, so the film comes off as really lazy and rushed when they don't bother exploring any of this. Before doing group films like this they'd be better served to do introductory films first. The Avengers had the same issue with characters like Black Widow and Hawkeye. It leaves you with the feeling that all of these films are just advertisements for the comics.

[mALX]

My point is that the film shouldn't make assumptions about audience comic book knowledge, but even someone who knows Katana would be disappointed by the sheer lack of screen time she gets. She just pops up in Suicide Squad, someone says "Oh she's coming too by the way" and then she disappears at the end without any explanation. If you cut all of her scenes out of the film and rewatched it, you'd never even notice that someone was missing.

The beauty of these characters is in their backstories and abilities, so the film comes off as really lazy and rushed when they don't bother exploring any of this. Before doing group films like this they'd be better served to do introductory films first. The Avengers had the same issue with characters like Black Widow and Hawkeye. It leaves you with the feeling that all of these films are just advertisements for the comics.

Yes, I thought they should have done a lead in movie too if they were going to bypass the character's histories. But at the time didn't realize how small a role they allowed her for the film. Too bad, because there is more advertising for her role in the movie than there is for the movie itself!

You may be right about these films acting as advertisement for their comics, but for that they are a good expense for the viewer; makes me wonder how much they bring in to the company, lol.

[hazmick]

Apparently, as of August 18 the film has made $509 million worldwide, and is yet to be released in some countries (such as Germany and Japan). Comic Book sales always jump up after superhero films, especially when they introduce 'new' characters.

I also read that a lot of scenes were cut from the final version, especially stuff with The Joker and Harley. I hope they do an extended cut or something to give people the chance to see more of it.

[SubRosa]

I have not seen Suicide Squad. Like always, I am waiting for it to be on disc. Given that Batman vs Superman got an extra half hour of material when it went to disc, I am sure Suicide Squad will get the same. I understand that there was originally a lot more material with the Joker in it. But it was so dark and creepy that it was cut - probably because it would have gotten them an R rating. So that will all probably all end up on an R-Rated disc. The exact same thing happened with BvS.

[Uleni Athram]

Yeah, the extended cut features more of the abusive side of the relationship between Joker and Harley, apparently.

[mALX]

509 million world wide isn't that good unless their budget was ridiculously low. And wait - if it wasn't released in Japan yet, then how has Uleni seen it? It probably has been released there already; which makes that 509M abysmally low! It should go to disc really quickly then.





This post has been edited by mALX: Aug 23 2016, 02:27 AM

[SubRosa]

According to the IMDB the movie's budget was 175 million. So if it has hit 509 mil, it has been extremely successful.

[mALX]

According to the IMDB the movie's budget was 175 million. So if it has hit 509 mil, it has been extremely successful.

3.3 mil gross profit; divide that in two when you add in the promotional and back end costs. I think they might break even when all the tallies are in after it is released on CD, but they anticipated 500 mil from US box office alone and didn't get it. Instead they are looking at 509 mil globally right now; so way lower numbers than they had anticipated when budgeting for it - and they won't get any revenue from China on this film, it has been banned there due to its dark content. That is a huge hit against its success.

Imho I think they are going to end up taking a beating on it at the box office; and still think it will be on disc very fast so the studio can recoup some of those expenses quicker.

But once it goes to CD, they will at least break even; maybe see some profit - nothing near what they hoped. Right now it is the dog of the year; and Sausage Party is kicking its butt at the Box Office.

The (novice) director made a lighter version and a darker version and ran them before test audiences. The one at the box office now is a merging of the two - taking away some of the dark from one, and maturing up the other, losing some of the comedy. It wasn't enough for China (or was too much darkening added) - so why doesn't the studio release the lighter version of it to areas where the darker version is unwelcome? They already made the (lighter version) film for a test audience; and would gain all that box office in China.






This post has been edited by mALX: Aug 23 2016, 05:03 AM

[SubRosa]

I know the amount of money spent on marketing is a lot. It can be up to the same or more than the cost as the film. Which in this case would put it up to about 350 million. But Suicide Squad has made 575 million now, so it has definitely done better than break even. None of this takes into account toy sales either, which believe it or not are a big part of these superhero movies. Toy money is so big that it literally dictates who the big villain will be. That money is all going to be pure profit, even without the China box office (which definitely is a big thing these days, it is why we are seeing more and more Chinese actors in movies these days, like Fan Bingbing in DOFP).

After only two and half weeks it is closing in on the amount that Batman v Superman made (872), and that cost more to make (and was a definite financial success). It also displaced Guardians as the Galaxy as the top opening movie in August, and has made more money than Guardians did in the same amount of time it has been out. Guardians cost 232 million to make as well. That gives some yardsticks to measure SS against.

So money wise, Suicide Squad is a success. That means we will definitely be seeing a sequel, and probably some solo movies as well. A Harley Quinn movie seems almost certain, as people were talking about it before SS even came out.

The critics obviously hate it. They hated Batman vs Superman too. Yet when I finally got around to seeing BvS I liked it a lot. So I am sure I will like SS as well. The way I figure, if critics hate a movie, it is bound to be good.

Obviously it is not doing as well as Warner Bros/The DCU had hoped. The same with BvS. I think you and Uleni were right in that they were getting ahead of themselves with these team movies. Because as you guys pointed out, when you have half a dozen stars, you don't get to see any one of them very much. I think Marvel did the smarter thing by putting out several solo movies before trying the first Avengers film. Warner/DCU is trying to play catch up with Marvel, and I think that is why they went for the big team movies right off the bat. They are trying to get to the same point that Marvel was three years ago, without taking the time. Now it is biting them in the rear.

I wonder if Warner/DCU might do a little regrouping now? They have Wonder Woman coming out next year, which is a solo film. But Justice League is following it at the end of 2017. The Flash and Aquaman are not set until 2018. Maybe they will rethink Justice League and push it back until after them? Probably not. They already filmed Justice League, so I bet they want the money back that they spent making it sooner than later, even if it hurts them overall. It will be interesting to see how that turns out.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Aug 24 2016, 12:24 AM