What movies have you seen recently?

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Yes. I fell in love with her in Looper. I was pissed after watching Into the Woods.

I need to get Edge of Tomorrow.

She's okay in Edge of Tomorrow, and though I like that film more I prefer her character in Looper.

[JayBee74]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Saw it last night. Good movie. Surprised to hear that Blunt and Benicio del Toro are not even considered longshots for an Oscar nom.

[jeremym480]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Yes. I fell in love with her in Looper. I was pissed after watching Into the Woods.

I need to get Edge of Tomorrow.

Watch The Five-Year Engagement if you haven't seen it already.

[nc0ffey]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Watch The Five-Year Engagement if you haven't seen it already.

I don't have that kind of time. Is there a 1 hour and 30 minute Engagement??

Sent from my D6708 using Tapatalk

[jeremym480]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I don't have that kind of time. Is there a 1 hour and 30 minute Engagement??

Sent from my D6708 using Tapatalk

Make time you Filthy Causal.

[Watson]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I knocked out The Revenant and The Hateful Eight today.

The Revenant was as good as billed, only it drug on a little too long and in my humble opinion Hardy was a far better actor than Leo in it. Far better.

The Hateful Eight was also better than everybody told me it would be, I found it to be the opposite of boring. It is Tarantino's second worst film (thanks, Jackie Brown!), but then again, that still doesn't mean it can't be good. I especially appreciated how Kurt Russell was basically playing a less gentlemanly Wyatt Earp. I think it's downfall was that Tarantino basically wrote himself into a corner and the ending sort of suffered because of it.

[JayBee74]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The Hateful Eight was also better than everybody told me it would be, I found it to be the opposite of boring. It is Tarantino's second worst film (thanks, Jackie Brown!), but then again, that still doesn't mean it can't be good.

I put Jackie Brown above the two Kill Bills and Django Unchained, but I didn't see Death Proof or the "now showing" The Hateful Eight.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Yeah, I don't understand why Jackie Brown gets hated on. Death Proof was meh even with consideration for the B-movie trope. Jackie Brown feels like an earlier, off-shoot draft of Kill Bill, but obviously more streamlined and focused.

[LambertandHam]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Yeah, I don't understand why Jackie Brown gets hated on. Death Proof was meh even with consideration for the B-movie trope. Jackie Brown feels like an earlier, off-shoot draft of Kill Bill, but obviously more streamlined and focused.

Jackie Brown is worth it for Pam Grier. Badass woman.

[JayBee74]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Jackie Brown is worth it for Pam Grier. Badass woman.

Badass in the 70's too.

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Creed

Watched the entire Rocky series in order in the past ten days before getting to this one.

I still need a while to absorb what I watched. Not that it's a lot to take in or anything, but I'm trying to gather my thoughts best about it. For starters, leaving it I certainly liked it but was not overly wowed by it. Great film and I'm glad I endured the first six Rocky films to get to that. I mean that seriously; people might say you'll enjoy it regardless as to whether you've gotten your Rocky fix in beforehand, but while that's true you just won't connect the same with it unless you do.

Given that I'm certain of sequels, I'll say that what I saw must have been incomplete. However, right now I just kind of feel like a lot of moments weren't earned in Creed. Maybe I just didn't fill in some of the gaps as I should have or maybe I just expected the motives to play out differently, but I didn't believe how things escalated to how they did within the two hours of cinema. I don't know, I think that's the part I have the most trouble shaking off. Honestly, I think I would have been a lot harder on it here if it wasn't for one line. One little dialogue exchange between Rocky and Adonis near the end of the film really saved this one for me. Even brought a tear to my eye. If not for that line, I would have left probably more ho-hum. But it came in just at the right moment and it worked. That's the reason I need to absorb it; I need to replay the film in my head again and watch it knowing what will be said later. Anyway, I'm rambling...

Stallone was... well, he was good. He still knows how to play Rocky. Time to time, you get one of those lines from him that you just can't help but smirk or chuckle. I think that this film would have made his character feel even more impactful if Rocky Balboa didn't happen, but I consider Balboa to be the better movie at this moment so I'm not going to pretend like it was a bad thing that happened either. I'll just say that while I'm glad he got the GG and while I will be glad if he gets the Oscar, I don't know if he's been my favorite supporting actor performance this year. Maybe, but in all I almost consider it to be more of a "body of work" or cerebral kind of nod for him than anything else (probably the same for Leo, you know?).

Hey, I don't want to bring this film down. I loved the fighting, some of the camera shots worked well while others I could pass on... but overall, I'll take a return from Coogler behind the camera and I'd like to see where sequels take this. Hopefully they redeem Adonis's character a little bit more, though. Wasn't in love with him, I'll be honest. Bianca was perfectly written, but Adonis needs some work IMO. I wonder how much influence Stallone had in the script or if he was the one who pushed for a spin-off in the first place. Either way, these films have grown my appreciation for the sport in some capacity, but these films still play as films, which is okay with me as long as we are all accepting of the fact.

Currently, here is my ranking order:

Rocky
Rocky Balboa
Rocky V
Creed
Rocky II
Rocky III
Rocky IV

Warrior beats them all though (although it's not boxing lol), or at the very least ties with Rocky.

EDIT: I normally post impressions without any spoilers whatsoever, but just so it doesn't come off as too vague regarding what line I was talking about that left me very impressed and with a total turnaround to the film, the Adonis character and motifs alike, it was this (sorry if I botch it):

Spoiler

Rocky: I'm going to call the fight.
Adonis: No!
Rocky: What do you have to prove?
Adonis: That I'm not a mistake.

Left me shattered. Most redeeming line of 2015 cinema, that's for sure.

I'm probably more willing to get in a spoiler discussion regarding some plot elements that I thought could and should have been reworked. I'm no professional writer, but in my head some things came off a little better than they did on screen.

[JayBee74]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Yeah, I didn't like Warrior nearly as much as you did and it features my favorite actor (Nolte, who was great in it).

Creed
Watched the entire Rocky series in order in the past ten days before getting to this one.

I read your reasons why, but it certainly wouldn't be necessary for me to do it. I couldn't see Rocky Balboa and Rocky 4 again anyway.

Hey, I don't want to bring this film down.

I still like it the same, even after your comments. (Not trying to be a jerk, but I'm not sure what you mean).

You can get into plot analysis all you want, but if you thought Stallone was "barely good", and you "didn't love" the title character (Creed), you didn't get what a lot of us got. I thought Jordan played wonderfully off of Sly, and I appreciated Adonis' respectful, almost loving demeanor toward Rocky. It would have been easy to have the Son of Creed surly and disrespectful, setting up an opportunity for Rocky to teach him morals and priorities, but thankfully they didn't go there. I was grateful that Sly won the GG, because his nuanced performance was touching and better than the one he gave in 1976.

That was a great line you put in spoiler tags, and another one was simply, "I fight, you fight", followed my a wonderful, subtle reaction from Rocky.

Maybe I just didn't fill in some of the gaps as I should have or maybe I just expected the motives to play out differently, but I didn't believe how things escalated to how they did within the two hours of cinema. I don't know, I think that's the part I have the most trouble shaking off.

It's not a mini series, things have to escalate in a two hour film. I thought they did a great job of getting Adonis to his big fight, whether it was a sparring session with the great Andre Ward (#2 contender in the film), or a convenient broken jaw at a press conference.

[N51_rob]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Academy Award Noms are out. Both Hardy and DiCaprio got nods. Leading and Supporting for The Revenenant. So funny to see Sly up there with a supporting not for Creed.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Mad Max with a bunch of nominations. Surprised to see that.

Cinematography category is stacked.

[Blzer]

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

WARNING: MASSIVE BLZER-LIKE POST AHEAD (rather spoiler-free, probably what you can get out of a trailer)

Yeah, I didn't like Warrior nearly as much as you did and it features my favorite actor (Nolte, who was great in it).

I will admit it doesn't feel that original on paper nor does it sound as good, but I think the acting is what won me over with it, honestly. Also, I was totally into the father-sons relationship (or lack thereof) and I found the fights to be more convincing than any of the Rocky fights, with the exception of the first big fight in Creed.

I read your reasons why, but it certainly wouldn't be necessary for me to do it. I couldn't see Rocky Balboa and Rocky 4 again anyway.

Ha, well at least the history is in place for you. I just feel like that somebody not having seen Rocky 4 wouldn't understand what it meant for whether or not Stallone should've stopped the fight. Seeing Creed only would make him look like nothing but a guilty figure to me.

I still like it the same, even after your comments. (Not trying to be a jerk, but I'm not sure what you mean).

and you "didn't love" the title character (Creed), you didn't get what a lot of us got. I thought Jordan played wonderfully off of Sly, and I appreciated Adonis' respectful, almost loving demeanor toward Rocky. It would have been easy to have the Son of Creed surly and disrespectful, setting up an opportunity for Rocky to teach him morals and priorities, but thankfully they didn't go there.

Right now, Creed is sitting at like a 7.5/10 for me. I'd say that's pretty damn good. After only one viewing (trust me, there will be more), I just thought this underdog story wasn't earned was all. In Rocky, I saw a one-time shot that somebody was getting who needed it more rather than wanting it more. The one trainer at the L.A. gym put it best in the gym, saying that men who are championed are not born from privilege but rather are hardened by pain.

He was a street fighter and supposedly a darn good one at that, so what was it that Rocky taught him? To fight himself? I just don't see where Rocky learned that kind of knowledge from Mickey and Apollo, I saw somebody that was established with a heart and learned to go the distance because he was a true underdog that no one would ever give him a chance for.

Adonis was different. He could have earned himself glory, but he didn't want it for the wrong reasons (being the son of Apollo, mostly), hence the reason for the name Johnson. But what got him where he was? The name alone. 15 wins in Mexico and a controversial knockout, and suddenly he is going to take on the light heavyweight champion of the world? One film in, and he is already at the upper-echelon of stardom after chasing a chicken in an alley, and we're supposed to believe that it's all because of six months of training with a man who has earned a lot more than muscle and fast feet? I just thought it was too fast. Hell, I thought Rocky was too fast as well getting the girl and the acclaim very immediately, but more so in the sense that he was already considering retirement by Rocky II but he still had five more films to go. I bet if Stallone knew it would last as long as it had, he would not have felt the need to rush things so quickly.

I thought this could have ran more briskly, and through different motivation (I think this is where you and I disagree, which is totally more than okay). The entire film, his motivation was somewhat unclear. He loved fighting, I saw that in the videos he watched on his projector and tablet, and his quitting a six-figure job just after a promotion (did not agree with this part at all). But until the final fight, I was dumbstruck with why he was for some things and against others, or why he would be triggered with an upsetting attitude at the exchange of only a few words. Furthermore, he was not so accepting of being his father's son, yet he will call his blood-unrelated father's best friend "Unc" because he knew they had a private fight together? He ran out on his stepmother, it wasn't the other way around.

I feel Rocky was always the one who appreciated family values (keeping Paulie around, adorning the dead, running Adrian's diner, pining for Mickey as a father figure, wanting for his son to love him as much as he loved him back, etc.). Speaking of which, let me copy and paste a direct quote from Rocky Balboa (the film, and character) to his son:

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place, and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that! I'm always gonna love you, no matter what. No matter what happens. You're my son and you're my blood. You're the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, you ain't gonna have a life.”

Hypothetically, if Rocky Balboa never happened, this is how I would have wanted the theme of Creed to be. I thought this would have been a perfect monologue from Rocky to Adonis. He should be what he thought he was: a one-man show who knew nothing but how he trained himself, okay to take advice from The Italian Stallion but was still motivated by one thing (the line I mentioned is what it is, which was fantastic on its own... keep that motivation intact).

But because we've had Rocky V already where Tommy Gunn came off the streets asking a retired Rocky to train him but hope to not just fall under his wing (or Apollo's, possibly in this case), I was hoping for there to be a difference in this story somewhere. Wouldn't have Rocky learned better than to magnetize himself to another guy that he didn't know again? Once again, I'm not as accepting of Adonis pulling him in "like family" when he did not appear to think that much of Apollo early on. Not that he didn't love him, but he thought that somewhere maybe Apollo loved fighting more (which Rocky had to debunk for him).

And what, Rocky Balboa has lost the fighting itch? I get running Adrian's, but not even being at a gym routinely watching young up-and-ups in the past ten years? I'll never say Rocky was a fluke success, but what does he have to offer regarding fighting mechanics that no other trainer could offer? I think that answer is heart. Balboa won by going the distance, taking punches to bring them back when the other guy wore down and going for the body. I don't really think he outfought any of his opponents pound-for-pound, and although he tutored Adonis in that, he never mentioned wearing the guy out. Anyway, I digress.

I know you said it shouldn't have gone the "morals" angle, but like I said, Rocky should have been instilling the family values in this guy, not the other way around at all. I don't yet know how to write in how Rocky would have recognized him (either as a fighter or Apollo's son), but his motivation for getting back in somebody's corner was right there: this guy has a gift that he is not properly utilizing, and the perfect bond between Balboa and Creed can be re-established almost vicariously. Keep the motivation for going the distance within Adonis the way that it was, but give him the strength to be more than he is by what Rocky has to tell him. I liked the scene where Rocky was telling him that he's not listening as he keeps talking back, for a moment there I was thinking that was the angle they should have gone all along. It should not have ever been "Rocky potentially walking out on Adonis," but the other way. That's just my opinion.

Keep the Bianca character in exactly as was. Change the quitting to a firing (for a fighting distraction getting in the way of someone who is trying to lead a double life as to be different from his father, despite his willing to fight at any turn), let Mary Anne have a few more redeeming qualities, and find different means for him to bring his way to Philadelphia. Finally, find a smaller stage so we could escalate in sequels. It was a good movie, but I kept seeing what I thought would be a great movie in there that I was like, "Aww man, that seems a bit out of character, and is a bit unrewarding."

You don't have to agree at all. You can fully be on the other side. I just want you to know where I'm coming from, because as you said you maybe didn't understand what I meant when I was being rather vague.

if you thought Stallone was "barely good",

You're quoting that like I said that.

I thought he was a rock star. He has been for all of these films. But that's exactly my point. Why not recognize him for it before? Why wait till now? I will acknowledge that his nuanced performance, as you said, sold better than an overacting bid ever would and I definitely appreciated it, which is why I think he earned himself a BSA nomination, and perhaps even a win.

I'm just saying that I would be happier if he won not because of the performance itself but rather that it is long past due for him and this character. Granted, they go hand-in-hand, but it's just about time. There may have been better BSA performances, but I wouldn't much care if Sly won over them. "Barely good" is not what I thought of his performance at all, but "standout" is not the way you describe it either, that's what I was saying. Much like Jonah Hill in Moneyball.

That was a great line you put in spoiler tags, and another one was simply, "I fight, you fight", followed my a wonderful, subtle reaction from Rocky.

The line was great, but don't you think it would have been better if this was the beginning of Adonis' turnaround? To be accepting of those "family values," maybe calling him Unc thereafter as a result of being mentored into this Creed creed? I thought this would have been a great moment for him to say, "Okay, this is what I will do you for." Instead he was threatening Balboa that he would quit. It should have been more a result of him being on the edge of quitting, then the stuff that comes thereafter, then the, "Hey man, I'll fight if you fight." Less of a threat and much more of a win-win I think. Beautiful line (would have been as good as the one I mentioned), but the wrong reasons for me.

It's not a mini series, things have to escalate in a two hour film. I thought they did a great job of getting Adonis to his big fight, whether it was a sparring session with the great Andre Ward (#2 contender in the film), or a convenient broken jaw at a press conference.

Like I said before, Rocky I - VI probably would have been rewritten differently if they knew he would have gone six films strong from the get-go. I just believe that. I also think that Coogler and crew had to have some sort of idea that they can spin-off more sequels to Creed given the financial success their first film would get, so I would have liked to know that this saga hasn't already hit near the top in just one film. That's kind of all I meant. It almost is a miniseries if they can get up to three films.

In my opinion, this film deserves a re-watch from me. I have to decide whether the film that was made is the one that deserves to be made over the mirror image version I was hoping this would have become (not prior to going into the film, mind you... just as I was watching it).