Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog

November 24, 2017: Following your lead!

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One of the nice things about not being in production (thanks again, Syfy) is the free time I now have to read, hang with the dogs and, of course, catch up on movies.  There are a bunch of new releases I’m considering checking out, but I’m…unconvinced.  So, please convince me – one way or the other: Should I go see these movies?

November 24, 2017: Following Your Lead!

Blade Runner 2049

Reason to go see it: I loved the original.

Reason not to go see it: I loved the original.  Also, it’s freakin’ 164 minutes long!

November 24, 2017: Following Your Lead!

Justice League

Reason to go see it: After three seasons working with him on Stargate: Atlantis, I feel I owe it to Momoa to go see his movie.

Reason not to go see it: After the big, bloated DOA corpse of a movie that was Avengers: Age of Ultron, I’m very circumspect when it comes to superheroes on the big screen.

November 24, 2017: Following Your Lead!

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Reason to go see it: An intriguingly weird-looking.

Reason not to go see it: So was Mother.

November 24, 2017: Following Your Lead!

Murder on the Orient Express

Reason to go see it: A great cast.

Reason not to go: Of all of Agatha Christie’s works, the ending to this one was perhaps the most unsatisfying.

November 24, 2017: Following Your Lead!

Lady Bird

Reason to go see it: Great reviews.

Reason not to go see it: Doesn’t really look like my cup of tea.

November 24, 2017: Following Your Lead!

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Reason to go see it: That audacious title.

Reason not to go see it: I’ve heard little about it.

November 24, 2017: Following Your Lead!

Thelma

Reason to go see it: Foreign genre entries are often unique and compelling (ie. Pan’s Labyrinth, The City of Lost Children).

Reason not to go see it: And, occasionally, plain awful (Pinocchio, High Tension).

Steer me right, people!

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40 responses

  1. maggiemayday Avatar
    maggiemayday

    I’ve heard very good things about Blade Runner from intelligent, funny people.

    C’mon, Jason is entering a whole new world … this must be seen. It is known.

    We’re catching up on movies via cheap Black Friday sales. Huzzah for low budget tastes.

    Reply
  2. Christine Cowen Avatar
    Christine Cowen

    I may be the only person in the world who loved Mother.

    Reply
    1. Quantum Mechanic®👽 (@JamesEFinch) Avatar
      Quantum Mechanic®👽 (@JamesEFinch)

      I’m waiting for the HD release…big fan of JLaw, but it looked too weird to see it in first run. Passengers, however, well I had to have that on blu-ray. She always does a great job.

      Reply
  3. Meanjean Avatar
    Meanjean

    Well. I saw the blade runner one and enjoyed it and it had the odd nod to the original type thing happening and speaking of nods I did not fall asleep which rowena noted. Even though it was long so that’s a good sign. I will see the justice league on the big screen because I always see those on big screen and the
    others I will wait for television viewing. But we do have a giant tv and don’t
    watch those things on a computer. I look forward to the three billboards because of frances mcdormand who I love.

    Reply
  4. Lee Avatar
    Lee

    There is a reason that DC’s greatest enemy is Rotten Tomatoes. Your comment about Avengers also applys to JL. But more so. It feels very disjointed but that comes from switching Directors mid production.

    Jason did an awesome job. Aqua man is so much like his time in SGA and he really fits the role nicely. See it for him. Then go enjoy a good DC movie and watch Wonder Woman.

    Reply
  5. screwball Avatar
    screwball

    Go see Blade Runner. The production design is gorgeous and well worth the price of admission, and it’s actually a good story that’s told very well. I love the original and was not disappointed by this new vision (which I’ve seen three times already–contemplating a fourth go-around this weekend). Yes, it’s long, but it flows surprisingly quickly.Still, definitely visit the facilities before sitting down for this one, and go easy (if at all) on the beverages.

    My $0.02…

    Reply
  6. DP Avatar
    DP

    I’ve heard great things about Wonder. I bet it will make you cry.

    Reply
  7. MaggieL80 Avatar
    MaggieL80

    I haven’t seen a one of these but plan to see Justice League, Blade Runner 2.0 & Three Billboards.

    I watched a behind the scenes making on IMDB for Three Billboards and I immediately thought “oh, hell yes!”. I’ll let you know. I really wanted to see Orient Express, but guess I’ll wait for the small screen to see it. I heard Kenneth Branaugh was in love with his character and gives him quite a bit of the screen time. Of course, he is the great mastermind Hercule Poirot.

    Have a great weekend…happy viewing!

    Reply
  8. cudaker Avatar
    cudaker

    Didn’t see any of these ^^
    Despite I loved cyberpunk, really not sure I will like Blade runner 2049.
    Just finish watching Valerian and the only thing I’d like in it was the Robots Battlestar Galactica style ,The story was maybe too poor
    •Kong: Skull Island. is the only movie I liked between those I saw
    and Thor: Ragnarok is probably the next one
    On Tv “The Brave” is pretty good so far ..only saw 2 episodes ..First one was very good 🙂

    Reply
  9. Tim G Avatar
    Tim G

    Justice League was great! Go and see it.

    Reply
  10. Duptiang Avatar
    Duptiang

    I went and saw Blade Runner 2049. Wished I had saved my money. I saw is in the local IMAX. Visual spectacular but not worth it as some elected to leave early; I looked at my watch. Don’t expect to see Harrison Ford until after hour two. It only felt like three hours. Saw Justice League on opening night. I do not look at my watch and at the IMAX. It is the place to see a movie. I am a fan of Wonder Woman! They could have done as well without Aquaman (a bit more rememberable than Conan the Barbarian), but I did get the story line of Superman. I would like to see Star Wars as my birthday is on the opener; can afford to wait a day or two.

    Reply
  11. Kathy Avatar
    Kathy

    Not on your list, but saw Thor today. Could’ve done without some of the extra comedy they added in. And Thor with short hair is a no.

    Reply
  12. Tam Dixon Avatar
    Tam Dixon

    Going to the movie theater isn’t as much fun as adult. I get very immersed and other people in the theater talk, or play with their phones. It’s hard to enjoy the experience in a theater. I’m getting old. It’s easier to wait for the dvd.
    As for voting on a flick, any film you pick will be better than “Shark boy, Lava girl . 😉

    Reply
    1. Ponytail Avatar
      Ponytail

      Hey! Not nice! The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl is a great movie!

      Reply
  13. scifirules Avatar
    scifirules

    I didn’t see Blade Runner 2049 for political reasons. My son saw it but wasn’t impressed. Can’t compare to the original or even the 1994 Stargate movie.

    Reply
  14. Ponytail Avatar
    Ponytail

    Show some love to the big guy and go see Justice League. Then write a TV show you can give Jason a part in.

    Reply
  15. confracto Avatar
    confracto

    Go see Blade Runner:2049, 10/10.

    Reply
  16. markgundy Avatar
    markgundy

    You Left Out, “50 Shades Of Gray II”… just kidding… But a film you might enjoy thanks to the writing, “Hitman’s Bodyguard” as well as cast… didn’t get a lot of promotion… Orient Express? Not a fan of remaking classics… DC Universe? Despite great characters, Marvel’s are better and so is the writing by a country mile… Blade Runner… same problem with re-makes though I’ll likely see it on DVD simply because of Harrison Ford. Best Sci Fi TV Series? Dark Matter by a light year…

    Reply
  17. Quantum Mechanic®👽 (@JamesEFinch) Avatar
    Quantum Mechanic®👽 (@JamesEFinch)

    Blade Runner 2049; Wait for the Blu-Ray. Too long, too convoluted. OK but the original (which had 5 different versions) did NOT need a sequel. Just like Day the Earth Stood Still did NOT need a sequel. Some films are just fine as one-offs. In fact, most good films are fine that way.

    Justice League. See it for Wonder Woman and Aquaman, who steals the show. Jason has that deadpan sense of humor and bravado. Wonder Woman is well, too awesome to pass up and she pretty much runs the show. There are things you will see, especially about Supes, that will make you go, “whuuuuuuut?!” Worth a look, though. It’s only 1 hour 50 min

    Murder On the Orient Express….see what I said about Blade Runner 2049. Another unnecessary film, in this case, a reboot or re-imagining.

    Lady Bird has some amazing reviews and 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, so it’s worth a look, but see Justice League first.

    Three Billboards looks like a hilarious comedy mixed with some drama. Reminds me of Fargo gone awry, but worth a look with a fine cast. Woody always brings it.

    The other films you mentioned…I haven’t a clue about.

    Thor Ragnarok, not on your list, but if you haven’t seen it…it’s pretty damn good. Lots of fun and Jeff Goldblum plays a mad alien (as I wanted him to in 2000, but funnier).

    I hope you have a great time at the theatre or theater, never quite sure how to spell it.

    Reply
  18. g2-fb3b81402d4ef8c909d0076ea627f0f8 Avatar
    g2-fb3b81402d4ef8c909d0076ea627f0f8

    I adore Blade Runner so much that I recoiled at the idea of a sequel, until I saw the trailers and slowly started to soften my position.
    I am glad I saw it in the cinema – the run-time is a smidge self-indulgent but it does a great job of world building, creating some fine characters (Deckard is one of the least interesting people in 2049!) and a really good plot.
    DC films should be avoided unless it’s a Gal or Jason solo movie.

    Reply
  19. Caroline A Avatar
    Caroline A

    I really liked Murder on the Orient Express. I’m looking forward to watching with my son who doesn’t know the ending.

    Reply
  20. Debra From The South Avatar
    Debra From The South

    Blade runner was both visually spectacular and strange as F’..k. If there is a sequel that helps explain stuff, great. I mean, I am glad I saw it, enjoyed it, but it felt like lots of holes in it.

    Reply
  21. Kiddle Avatar
    Kiddle

    I’m addressing Bladerunner. I suggest you see it. Yes it’s long, but as a huge fan of the first one, it was nice to see the story background and extension in this one. It is long. That’s ok.

    Reply
  22. RichS Avatar
    RichS

    I have just seen Justice League and Jason is good in it, the movie was only ok, it has issues.

    However for me it’s just more of the same superhero stuff. Can’t help but feel we have reached saturation point here where you could insert any of the superheroes in these films without any change to the story.

    I felt the same about Spiderman Homecoming, the film was ok what saved it was that he played the most comic like Peter Parker (at least from my memory!)

    Thor Ragnarok was better, they tried to do something different there by making it a comedy.

    The best one recently was Wonder Woman, good story and Gal Gadot was fabulous in it.

    Heard good things about Blade Runner but haven’t seen it yet, think I will see the moustachio’d Sir Ken on tv 🙂 it is a fearsome tache though….

    Reply
  23. candicegdw Avatar
    candicegdw

    Hi Joe! Just watched Geostorm. It’s actually really good. The characters were compelling, so much so, that this would have worked better if it were a special event TV series. The science and space technology was super cool – they really thought it through. I do like Dean Devlin’s other projects too, so would recommend this movie. Also, a nice platform for commentary on One Planet, One People, One Future, etc.

    Reply
  24. Mark Bunbury Avatar
    Mark Bunbury

    Blade Runner 2049 is a very good movie & there is a link to the original (not Harrison Ford) & the killing of a sacred deer is also a good film. Perhaps as I am Irish I may be biased but that is my view and you should enjoy both

    Reply
  25. Patricia Avatar
    Patricia

    Blade Runner 2049 – Meh. Compared to the first film; there’s not much of a story, not vested in the characters, and. . .did they eat the dog!?

    Murder on the Orient Express – You know who dun it as soon as it happens, the only twist is discovering how they all relate to one another. Beautifully filmed, but it’s a long sit listening to K. Branagh’s Belgian accent.

    Sorry to be so negative, but I was very disappointed in these two.

    Reply
  26. KendraJayBee (@iamKendrajb) Avatar
    KendraJayBee (@iamKendrajb)

    I think you should see Blade runner, if for no other reason than that you saw and liked the first one. Go into the movie knowing that you won’t like it as much as the first and you will not be disappointed. I liked it. I didn’t love it. And there were certainly scenes that could have been left out or shortened without hurting the integrity of the story. If some of the story doesn’t seem to totally mesh with or be a logical follow up to the 1st, just remind yourself how incredibly loosely the original movie was based on ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep’ and just shrug and let it go. As I said, at the very least, it’s worth seeing just for the sake of comparison and conversation. Do see it on the big screen. There are definitely scenes that will not translate well to the small screen. You need the full effect to be able to discuss it.

    Reply
  27. gforce Avatar
    gforce

    I haven’t seen any of those movies, and I’ve only heard mixed reviews of both Bladerunner and JL. They kind of both sound like ones I might wait until the on-line release to see. I guess that’s not much help!

    Having a very nice visit here in PEI!

    Reply
  28. congotim Avatar
    congotim

    I enjoyed Justice League, but you do have to go in with a full understanding of what this movie is and where it sits.It’s an attempt at fixing the previous wrongs that existed in the pre-Wonder Woman DC Movie Universe. There is humor and most of it is good. Unfortunately, half the team (Aquaman, Cyborg, and the Flash) haven’t yet had their own stand alone movie so a good portion of the movie is introducing us to characters we don’t know. That being said, if you made it through BvS and didn’t totally swear off the DC Universe, then it’s worth a watch. It still has a very Zack Snyder look to it, but Batman laughs and jokes and Wonder Woman is both stunning and well done (as she is in her stand alone movie). I don’t know that this movie is great, but I think the tone may actually be lighter than Age of Ultron. You could safely compare it, positively, to BvS and AoU, but dont bother comparing it to Thor: Ragnarok. That movie was arguably the best super hero movie of this current generation, at least from a pure entertainment standpoint. One thing that Justice League did for me was renew a sliver of hope for the DC Movie Universe. If an entire Flash movie can be as entertaining as Ezra Miller was in JL, we could be in for a treat

    Reply
  29. FargteOne Avatar
    FargteOne

    Denis Villeneuve a réussi à relever le défi de BladeRunner. L’atmosphère du film est aussi poignante qu’au premier. Nous avons aimé.

    Reply
  30. Susanna A. Avatar
    Susanna A.

    I loved Blade Runner! Beautiful movie and great continuing story. The music and sound was wonderful, definitely a good movie to see in a theater! The only other movie I’ve watched on the list is Murder on the Orient Express. It was disappointing. Never seemed to fit together and didn’t have good flow. They are making Murder on the Nile and I have hope that it’ll be better.

    Reply
  31. Peter Avatar
    Peter

    I will skip JL mostly because, there are a great “the flash” in Grant Gustin, but they picked someone else for the move, with a totally different personality and backstory … so … no, would have been like you picked Brendan fraser instead of Ben Browder as Mitchell in continuum

    Reply
  32. john Avatar
    john

    Age of ultron. Changed things antman film should. Have been released first so. Henry pyme would be. The inventor and. No. Hawkeye. Wife rubbish

    Reply
  33. snarrls26mengel Avatar
    snarrls26mengel

    I just returned from seeing Justice League. I am biased toward …go and see it, but I am also a comic book fan with DC being my go to comics. I loved the Wonder Woman movie so I was anxious to see her role in JL. I enjoy the movies for what they are…sheer entertainment and I try not to get caught up in hype or negativity from critics. I have not yet seen the others but have them on my list. I also want to see Wonder. I read the book and it’s a great read for the 10+ year crowd.

    Reply
  34. Azerole Avatar
    Azerole

    Blade Runner and Murder on the Orient Express, Justice League was underwhelming, not bad, but lacking.

    Reply
  35. Redmallie Avatar
    Redmallie

    I just deleted a lengthy comment about this. Ugh.
    I am a fan of Frances McDormand and Saoirse Ronan, so just because they act in their respective movies listed above, I’d watch those.
    Murder in the Orient Express, I would like to watch it, but maybe at home streaming and with popcorn by my side.
    Blade Runner 2049. I saw the original and would like to have stick with that one only. Besides, Ryan Gosling? Not replicant enough and not pretty enough.
    Justice League. My favorite superheroes: Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman were casted wrongly in my opinion, so, no thanks.
    Thor Ragnarok: not on your list, but extremely enjoyable as a comedy.
    Have a lovely Sunday eve!!

    Reply
  36. BoltBait Avatar
    BoltBait

    I haven’t seen everything, but I’ll rate what I’ve seen… My opinion:

    Blade Runner 2049 – If you’re a fan of the original, you must see this. Just be aware, the original is an action movie, this is a mystery. 8/10

    Murder on the Orient Express – Just watch the original again. Skip this one. 0/10

    Three Billboards – Brilliant. Go see this one. 9/10

    Reply
  37. PBMom Avatar
    PBMom

    Will have to wait for any movie we want to see until it comes out on 4K/BluRay/3D Whichever platform. I’m sure we’ll see a few of those, like Murder on the Orient Express.

    Reply
  38. shinyhula Avatar
    shinyhula

    I thought 2049 would be a fave and that I’d go see it every week it was in cinemas, but once was enough for me. The best movie I’ve seen so far this fall is The Florida Project, and I will checking out Shape of Water this weekend.

    Reply

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