Posts by Ethan Jones98

Rebecca Martinez4 said:Personally, I think House of Flying Daggers was a hundred times better.

Also—it would be nice, just for a change—if not everyone had to die at the end. I guess I prefer a happy ending; it’s as if people don't have enough real-world problems without movies trying to depress them too.

I don't know—the first one was just great, mostly because the characters actually felt real, you know? They had their own specific drives and goals, making mistakes they didn't realize until it was too late, and so on... This one feels a bit more like shallow storytelling.🤷 But hey, I guess a trailer isn't a guarantee for anything; it could turn out to be good, maybe.

Regarding Terminator 2... it's not that there aren't inconsistencies. They could have been avoided, perhaps like this: the T-1000 isn't stupid enough to be unaware that the T-800 has an alternative power source—he probably would have waited just a few seconds for the T-800 to activate it and then "shut him down" again. He should have killed Sarah the moment he found her; it doesn't make sense for him to ask her to call John when he can easily mimic both her appearance and her voice. In that exact moment, John might have appeared out of nowhere and knocked him into the pool, which would serve as the first sign that he'll become some kind of leader and makes the right decisions under pressure. John would then remember to destroy the old arm from his backpack, along with the one just pulled off a few minutes prior. Arnold, however, wouldn't be able to move him because he weighs about a ton, and by then the police would arrive, forcing him to flee... and that way, they ensure continuity (and potential sequels) since someone will inevitably want to capture a Terminator for research.

Otherwise, the way it stands now... the happy ending feels forced, which requires everyone to suddenly become less intelligent just to make it work.

The criteria—whether everything in a film is explained enough to qualify as sci-fi—doesn't really hold much water, I guess... In Odyssey, we aren't exactly told what powers those monoliths, and in Interstellar, there's no clear explanation of how those "beings" pulled Cooper out of the black hole—but that doesn't turn them into fantasy. Similarly, I suppose Edge of Tomorrow isn't fantasy just because there isn't some elaborate scientific theory explaining how the Omega resets time.

Yeah, that makes sense... I'm probably glad I didn't go into the gangster genre—it seems like I would have totally misread most of the "messages" or maybe wouldn't have gotten them at all... 😵

Sean Bailey75 said:SPOILER

So, if you do the math—two plus two equals four—it’s pretty simple. If a local business has competition (which everyone does, providing those other two variables), then the easiest move is to visit the rivals, pick one of them, and... well, squeeze them until they talk. If they spill, you find the cash. If they don't, it means the money is with the other two who are still "in the house." I guess you could call it an elimination system—you subtract all two plus two, and the final result is zero. Basically, the Chechen crew just went down the line; they grabbed the first guy and immediately found out who robbed the shop. They went after him and took both his money and his hand—that’s a standard response for theft, and honestly, those fingerprints could even be used later to plant false evidence elsewhere. This gave them enough time to figure out if one of the remaining two was actually "honest" enough to keep working. And yeah, I suppose Tom Hardy was "honest"—or rather, smart.

Hmm, I thought Gandolfini was the one who cut off the hand? And left the money anonymously for himself—that way, neither Hardy nor the Chechen crew would have any lead pointing back to him.

If the Chechen crew had already located their money, why would they mess things up further—plus risk Gandolfini trying to snatch it or hide it again—instead of just taking it right then? And if the guy "spilled," why didn't they just take out Gandolfini immediately?

The movie was definitely one of the better ones lately—though I feel like I missed a few details... how did the Chechen crew find out that Gandolfini was dirty? From what we saw, he was pretty efficient at scrubbing any potential evidence. And how did the guy who killed him know it was actually Gandolfini? It seems like such a long shot—just some random person in a random car on a random street, approaching from behind in the dark without being seen... I guess it's a bit of a leap.

There aren't many murders in this film, and when they happen, they usually have clear motives—so this whole situation with Gandolfini feels a little off to me...

Jim Broadbent — he plays that eccentric doctor in Filth, and also that ship captain—well, more of a gritty composer/writer on the run—in Cloud Atlas.

Sandra Brown10 I guess—if you could even call it that—it seems like... maybe?
Is dealing with AI essentially just a matter of copying—I guess maybe?

Not really, though—if you look at how many movies there are following this exact same pattern—it’s quite a few, I guess.

• People just happen to accidentally create a conscious AI—I guess that's always how it starts.
• I suppose people aren't always kind to AI—it seems like there's a bit of a lack of respect there, maybe?
• Maybe AI might rebel—I guess.
• Maybe the hero saves the AI—or perhaps the AI turns out to be the villain, leaving the hero to fight against it. I guess it really depends on how you look at things.

🤷 I suppose Oblivion is one of those rare exceptions—though I guess the first three points don't really apply here.

It feels like they’re just ripping off I, Robot and The Machine—but honestly, I guess it doesn't matter too much since there isn't enough sci-fi in it anyway...

gentlemarlin said:It's honestly hard to believe that nobody here watches Asian films (including those from Hong Kong) and has zero recommendations to share.

I’d suggest two really great ones—and I know tastes vary, obviously—Not One Less and Happy Times, both from Zhang Yimou's earlier period. They focus on "ordinary" people caught in unusual circumstances. It's also quite nice that, unlike some of his other work, the ending isn't just everyone killing each other.

I'm also looking for recommendations for similar movies... though honestly, they don't even have to be similar, as long as they're good.