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Re: General Film Chat

mickilennial — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 22:11:14 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 10/16/2026 02:11

I don't like using IP in a shallow way. It tells fans there isn't actually respect for the series they care about. I don't find most of your argumentation sound, either, as someone who has played every single Resident Evil game in the franchise (even the crappy handheld games).

Re: General Film Chat

CA Dreamin — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 21:35:18 GMT

Author: CA Dreamin

Posted: 10/16/2026 01:35

mickilennial wrote:

Quote:

The brief shot of a typewriter, and the mentions of Umbrella and Raccoon City.

These felt like shoehorned references that weren't used in a meaningful way to me.

They are indeed shoehorned, and I found they weren't meant to be meaningful. They were just quick nods to the games, nothing more.

mickilennial wrote:

Quote:

Why aren't they well-liked? Why aren't people comparing them to this reboot?

Because outside of the first two films they are not films with much substance.

None of them are films with much substance.

mickilennial wrote:

Quote:

The previous RE movies try too hard to be like games...implausible over-the-top action, little character development, lots of world-building, generally boring stoic energy, etc.

You mean the games that have constantly used mood and character development with characters that are more than stoic? What are you talking about?

I'm talking about the flaws of the other RE films. I'm talking about how some aspects of the games don't translate well when adapted to cinema. I didn't get the impression from RE 1-5 the playable characters had much of an arc, or depth. And it's not like they had a wide range of emotions outside of reacting to their situations. I mean, they're videogame characters. The few times they "act" during the games were in the tedious, wooden cut scenes, which frankly I wanted to skip most of the time (especially the PS1 titles). Granted maybe this has changed in the more recent games and the remakes. I saw of the gameplay on YouTube, and if I'm not mistaken they added backstories to some characters and made the cut scenes more realistic and cinematic.

mickilennial wrote:

Quote:

This film works because it's primary objective is to be a movie

You could remove "Resident Evil" from the branding and change little to nothing from this. That's a problem.

Agree to disagree but I don't think that's a problem at all. I like the idea of a Resident Evil game series and movie series that share little in common, play to the strengths of their medium, and are both quite enjoyable in their different, respective ways. Unless you're saying the problem is the movie even had the "Resident Evil" branding to begin with, as a criticism against the film industry overusing pre-existing IPs. In which case, yeah I understand that. But I still liked this movie a lot.

Re: General Film Chat

mickilennial — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 19:01:18 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 10/15/2026 23:01

Quote:

and threw them all together

See, this is one of the things I did not care for. This is early in the Outbreak, we shouldn't have these kind of BOWs yet.

Quote:

The brief shot of a typewriter, and the mentions of Umbrella and Raccoon City.

These felt like shoehorned references that weren't used in a meaningful way to me.

Quote:

Why aren't they well-liked? Why aren't people comparing them to this reboot?

Because outside of the first two films they are not films with much substance.

Quote:

The previous RE movies try too hard to be like games...implausible over-the-top action, little character development, lots of world-building, generally boring stoic energy, etc.

You mean the games that have constantly used mood and character development with characters that are more than stoic? What are you talking about?

Quote:

This film works because it's primary objective is to be a movie

You could remove "Resident Evil" from the branding and change little to nothing from this. That's a problem.

Re: General Film Chat

CA Dreamin — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 14:23:20 GMT

Author: CA Dreamin

Posted: 10/15/2026 18:23

I loved the games. I played 1-5 before adulthood kicked in and didn't have enough free time to keep up with videogames thereafter 😕 Still I saw the nods and homages to the games. The brief shot of a typewriter, and the mentions of Umbrella and Raccoon City. My favorite homage to the games was the weapons. He begins with a pistol he took from the cop, then finds a shotgun in the rural home, and finally has an automatic rifle when he gets to the city. And of course, the shotgun itself is nowhere near the ammo, because gun safety is important that's kind of how the games go. Anyway, it seems like nobody has been addressing the fact seven RE movies came before this one. Why aren't they well-liked? Why aren't people comparing them to this reboot? I think it's because there's not much of a comparison. The previous RE movies try too hard to be like games...implausible over-the-top action, little character development, lots of world-building, generally boring stoic energy, etc. That works for videogames because your experience as a gamer is simply just surviving and riddle-solving, while the story and characters are secondary. But in movies, stories and characters come first, and Zac Cregger understood that. This film works because it's primary objective is to be a movie, not a movie based on a game. He chose not to have any named characters from the games in the movie. He chose not make the main character a badass who already knows how to use whatever weapon you hand him, who shoots his/her way through hordes of monsters and treats it like a random Tuesday. Instead, the new RE is simply about a random dork caught in the midst of a zombie outbreak. His acting feels natural. And man, this movie is laugh-out-loud funny. It's more of a comedy than a horror. Go see it

Re: General Film Chat

LedZep — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 01:32:33 GMT

Author: LedZep

Posted: 10/15/2026 05:32

As a fan of the games as well, agreed. It was good-ish. I actually really like the way Cregger's taken the RE world, Racoon City setting and various zombies (mostly from RE 4) and threw them all together while making a coherent story and (what's less important to me tbh) stayed true to the lore. The costumes, props and CGI were excellent. I also loved the way guns were handled in this movie, finally a movie which actually resembles a survival horror game and a real life situation. Various fun camera angles and generally camera work which tried to replicate the gaming feeling worked like a charm. Humour was fine, most of the jokes landed, but it was excessive overall. The fatherhood themes were shoehorned in imo and didn't really connect with anything else thematically, except maybe the maternity ward sequence (which was the coolest setting in the movie, it's a shame it was somewhat underutilized). I'm still not too sure about the ending either.

Re: General Film Chat

CA Dreamin — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:34:15 GMT

Author: CA Dreamin

Posted: 10/15/2026 04:34

mickilennial wrote:

Zach Cregger's Resident Evil was... okay. Decent. As a fan of the games and horror cinema I was kind of mixed on it. I don't like some of Cregger's changes and some of the decisions, but it is enjoyable. Go see it. 8)

I already have, and had a great time! Not my #1 film of the year by any stretch, but possibly the one I most thoroughly enjoyed.

Re: General Film Chat

mickilennial — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 19:58:07 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 10/14/2026 23:58

Zach Cregger's Resident Evil was... okay. Decent. As a fan of the games and horror cinema I was kind of mixed on it. I don't like some of Cregger's changes and some of the decisions, but it is enjoyable. Go see it. 😎

Re: General Film Chat

CA Dreamin — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:22:35 GMT

Author: CA Dreamin

Posted: 10/14/2026 04:22

Hayden wrote:

CA Dreamin wrote:

mickilennial wrote:

CA Dreamin wrote:

Digger

Is it worth seeing?

Totally! It's what cinema should be...ambitious, thought-provoking, well-shot and well-acted, multi-layered, multiple themes, open to multiple interpretations, etc. Personally I was mixed on it. And the film has been divisive. However, that should not stop anybody from seeing it and deciding for themselves.

I'm looking forward to seeing it, quite a bit—
Anything this divisive and ambitious is always worth watching—

You think Cruise'll land Best Actor?

I hope he gets nominated at the very least.

Re: General Film Chat

Hayden — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:01 GMT

Author: Hayden

Posted: 10/14/2026 04:00

CA Dreamin wrote:

mickilennial wrote:

CA Dreamin wrote:

Digger

Is it worth seeing?

I'm looking forward to seeing it, quite a bit—
Anything this divisive and ambitious is always worth watching—

You think Cruise'll land Best Actor?

Re: General Film Chat

CA Dreamin — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 20:06:10 GMT

Author: CA Dreamin

Posted: 10/14/2026 00:06

mickilennial wrote:

CA Dreamin wrote:

Digger

Is it worth seeing?

Re: General Film Chat

mickilennial — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 17:41:01 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 10/13/2026 21:41

CA Dreamin wrote:

Digger

Is it worth seeing?

Re: General Film Chat

CA Dreamin — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 18:24:50 GMT

Author: CA Dreamin

Posted: 10/12/2026 22:24

Digger

Re: General Film Chat

Applerill — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 17:35:05 GMT

Author: Applerill

Posted: 10/01/2026 21:35

Here’s my top 40 of the year so far (of the 75 or so features I’ve seen). I’ve seen a lot of extraordinary stuff so far, but I’lll admit that i‘ve been more underwhelmed by stuff I’ve seen the past month or so.

https://boxd.it/SMNZU

Re: General Film Chat

Olli — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 14:52:38 GMT

Author: Olli

Posted: 09/23/2026 18:52

It's already the end of September. Time to start thinking about the best movies of 2026.

I currently have a top 12: https://boxd.it/UU9Jw

Very good:

1. The Odyssey
2. Project Hail Mary

also good, but... :

3. GOAT
4. Remarkably Bright Creatures
5. The Invite
6. Crime 101

It's okay:

7. The Bride!
8. Masters of the Universe
9. The Last House
10. Rosebush Pruning
11. The Rip
12. Wuthering Heights

Re: General Film Chat

CA Dreamin — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 03:38:41 GMT

Author: CA Dreamin

Posted: 07/28/2026 07:38

I'm still not sure if it's better to create a designated thread for 2026 in film/TV or throw everything into this vague megathread. Either way, it's been quiet in the movies section and maybe some of my brain droppings will encourage others to come forward to talk about 2026 movies so far.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple - About a notch or two below its predecessor. This Part 2 of a trilogy took a 180 turn from the first film, abandoning certain plot and character arcs to go elsewhere. I wasn't too big on the new direction here, but Ralph Fiennes's expanded character was excellent. Cillian Murphy's cameo at the end was great too, building excitement for the next installment (although it's not 100% clear if/when it will happen).

Send Help - Enjoyable, though unspectacular. I think its issue for me was lack of originality, for it felt like a mixture of Horrible Bosses, Triangle of Sadness, Misery, Cast Away, and perhaps others I'm not thinking of. It's 2026 and there have been hundreds of thousands of movies throughout history, so I guess originality is hard to come by anymore. At least Send Help borrows from good sources, and manages to be decent in its own right.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die - Already covered this on another thread. Gore Verbinski is just one of those directors who refuses to let studios put him in a box. He doesn't bring out movies as frequently as he used to, but when he does it's interesting indeed. The guy likes chaos, and being edgy and unsafe, and GL, HF, DD delivered! Unhinged Sam Rockwell saving the world from AI, dressed in the most ridiculous outfit that alone is worth the price of admission. Not a perfect movie, but a total blast!

People We Meet on Vacation - A forgettable rom-com.

Project Hail Mary - Possibly the most overrated film I have ever seen. I've spoken at length about my fondness for science-fiction. And boy, this was an absolute cop-out of a sci-fi film. It seemed like PHM was gonna be a treat with ideas stemming from Villeneuve's Arrival and Danny Boyle's Sunshine. It took those ideas and reduced them into what I can describe as Turner and Hooch in space, only PHM didn't even have that much charm, thought, or sacrifice. I hated this movie so much. I ran out of the auditorium after it ended to the men's room and barfed in a toilet stall for 10 minutes.

The Drama - But you know, movies sometimes have a way course-correcting. The day after I watched the worst movie of the year so far, I went back to the same exact theater and watched the best movie of the year so far. The Drama was such a pleasant surprise. It's a rom-com, but possibly one of the darkest and yet most original entries in the genre. It's not for everyone, for it touches upon some serious topics that may rub people the wrong way. But for me, controversy is what makes art intriguing, and personally I didn't take issue with how The Drama handled things. It takes you through a dark tunnel, leaving you with thoughts to linger on. All that plus it lands its humor, which I found to be a great achievement.

The Christophers - Latest film from Steven Soderbergh. Hell of a performance from Ian McKellan. The movie itself was good-not-great.

Obsession - Already covered in another thread. It's a decent thriller-horror. It's not the best movie ever, as the hype may suggest. The fantasy/supernatural elements don't work very well within its story. But hey, it's well acted and well edited, and by golly it's reawakened a boring aimless mainstream. I'm so happy at how well it's doing at the box office, and I'm proud to say I know a few other LA locals who worked on it. It gives me hope that maybe the future of cinema isn't so bleak, and that maybe more film productions will shoot in LA again (although at the same time, AI is getting used more and more, and thus I'm not sure about my job security right now, but I won't go there).

Disclosure Day - I wanted Spielberg's latest film to be better. Some things about it work, such as Blunt's amazing performance, as one would expect. A couple action sequences were cool. However the script had several issues. How Colin Firth's army of spies couldn't capture Josh O'Connor was unbelievable. Furthermore, the film made frustrating decisions on what plot information was given and withheld. The stakes were never made clear, thus it felt a tad tedious and pointless, and the very ending didn't land at all. Maybe I need to give it another watch.

Backrooms - Along with Obsession, Backrooms has upended the mainstream this summer. I wasn't crazy about the film itself. Nevertheless, it's wonderful that something original, creative, and R-rated is getting people out of the house and into the theaters.

The Invite - My second or third favorite movie of the year so far. A witty adult comedy about two couples coming together who couldn't be any different. Apparently it's a remake of a 2020 film called The People Upstairs. Gotta check that out. Anyway, four great performances and several great one-liners. I felt it was getting repetitive, but then a major plot turn leads to gut-punch third act.

Re: General Film Chat

Olli — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:52:53 GMT

Author: Olli

Posted: 07/20/2026 20:52

for me, another pefect movie from 2026 is The Odyssey from Nolan. Is the film better than PHM? 🤔

We have almost a year to decide what will be number 1 😉

Re: General Film Chat

Olli — Fri, 5 Jun 2026 03:41:40 GMT

Author: Olli

Posted: 06/05/2026 07:41

Is Project Hail Mary likely one of the best film of 2026? So wonderful �'�

Re: General Film Chat

Repo — Tue, 2 Jun 2026 10:09:45 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 06/02/2026 14:09

CA Dreamin wrote:

If Obsession's third weekend out-grosses Star Wars's second weekend, that would be wild. I'm curious to see if Obsession will pull it off. We'll know soon enough. As for this poll, Obsession is technically eligible. Yet it's so late in the poll, I doubt its inclusion on new lists or edited submitted lists would push it onto the Top 25. I figure it'll make next year's list once more people see it. But whatever, I just edited it into my list, post #35. Cause why not? Can put it on next year's list too.

It happened! 🥳 And my daughter is going to see Obsession tomorrow with her step-sister. Yay!

What's the word on the new Supergirl movie coming out?! My kids & I really dug Superman last Summer, and we love the choice of Milly Alcock and the trailer persona of this Supergirl. I'm hoping it's both good and, if good, a hit because I'd love to see this James Gunn iteration of DC Universe be something special that comic book geeks like me can get behind.

Re: General Film Chat

Hayden — Sat, 23 May 2026 19:22:44 GMT

Author: Hayden

Posted: 05/23/2026 23:22

Hayden wrote:

Regardless, Spain's winning something, and Japan's winning something—

As always, nailed it—

Interesting result. For the most part it's the films I figured would walk away with something, but literally none of the categories I figured they'd win in.

Now it's time to watch the films 😎

Re: General Film Chat

Hayden — Thu, 14 May 2026 03:17:14 GMT

Author: Hayden

Posted: 05/14/2026 07:17

Tis that razzledazzle Cote d'Azur time of year again when all the fancy people flying into Nice take an Uber helicopter over to Cannes— really great looking semi-lowkey lineup, and a super interesting jury— very glad to see Park Chan-wook getting some dues with helming duty— feels like it has the makings of a classic year, and I hope some triumphs come out of it—

Course, I have no idea what will happen. There will be surprises. There will be duds. But I'm predicting something along these lines happening:

Palme D'or: Fatherland (Pawlikowski)
Grand Prix: The Beloved (Sorogoyen)
Jury Prize: All of a Sudden (Hamaguchi)
Director: Lukas Dhont & Zvyagintsev
Actor: Sebastian Stan (Fjord)
Actress: Bárbara Lennie (Bitter Christmas) or ScarJo (Paper Tiger)
Screenplay: Gentle Monster (Kreutzer)

Or some mixture of that anyway—
The acting leads from The Beloved could walk away with the acting prizes instead—
Kore-eda should be up there somewhere too, but don't know where—
Regardless, Spain's winning something, and Japan's winning something—