FilmNight: Movies you watched recently

[Spartan Girl]

1001 Arabian Nights (1959): Well, blow me down, I never knew that Mister fucking Magoo made his own version of Aladdin--playing Aladdin's bumbling uncle. And oh yeah, this is another movie that Disney probably used for inspiration years later...

Maybe I'm just not a Magoo fan, but I wasn't really feeling this. Aladdin doesn't really do anything other than finding the lamp, it's "Uncle" Magoo that winds up saving in his usual clueless way.

[SoMuchTV]

I watched Elf for the first time in a long time last night, and a question occurred to me during the shower scene (where they’re singing “Baby it’s Cold Outside”). Buddy has no street smarts, never heard of NYC, but they learned that song in Elf School?

[Danny Franks]

I half watched Jurassic World: Dominion last night. It's a terrible movie, and it's a shame that the original cast all came back for it just to do half-baked rehashes of iconic moments from the first movie.

But the most interesting thing is that the special effects seem worse than even the original Jurassic Park. I don't know if it's just because I have such affection for the first movie, and the impact those effects had on me, but even the clear CGI shots in the original seem more detailed and with more attention to detail. How is that possible after thirty years of development in CGI?

[Anduin]

 

But the most interesting thing is that the special effects seem worse than even the original Jurassic Park. I don't know if it's just because I have such affection for the first movie, and the impact those effects had on me, but even the clear CGI shots in the original seem more detailed and with more attention to detail. How is that possible after thirty years of development in CGI?

You can't expect the best results without the best effort. The original was something new and in the hands of a master, who made sure it was all done as good as possible. These days, standards have slipped. You need time, money, and the right people. But if all right is good enough, then you get all right results.

[Trini]

Recently watched Cyrano (2021); didn't feel like resurrecting the topic for my quick thoughts:

Gorgeous to look at! Peter Dinklage was great; the rest of the cast as well. Obviously, the role was tailored to Dinklage, but re-imagining Cyrano as having dwarfism rather than a huge nose worked well.  Was underwhelmed by most of the songs and singing. Dinklage clearly isn't a singer, but he did his best and wasn't terrible.

And I guess I thought I knew the story of Cyrano, but I guess I didn't, because I was surprised

Spoiler

 and saddened that he dies in the end! No happy ending?? wahhh 😭

Anyway, would recommend!

 

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On 12/23/2024 at 6:04 AM, Danny Franks said:

But the most interesting thing is that the special effects seem worse than even the original Jurassic Park. I don't know if it's just because I have such affection for the first movie, and the impact those effects had on me, but even the clear CGI shots in the original seem more detailed and with more attention to detail. How is that possible after thirty years of development in CGI?

It may also have to do with everything being hi-def these days, as opposed to then. But yeah, the effects in the original hold up remarkably well.