Movies of the year

Currently watching Terminator Genesys (cheers CK!).

It's a cracker of a movie and a fitting continuation to the series. The one (ok, two) major question I have about the plot is : Where is the T-X ? That was a good character/machine in Terminator 3 and it would have been better if the presence of it was explained. Perhaps in the next Terminator movie. (You know there will be one).

The other problem is how the distributors addressed publicising this movie. There was a massive plot spoiler in the second trailer and ... the plot spoiler is in the video reel that plays in the bluray menus.

It kinda gets me thinking - it's getting close to the end of the year and there's been a fair few decent movies out. And a couple to come ! What are the best of them ?

Terminator Genesys is definitely one of the better ones. It has its flaws (like all Terminator movies) but it has lots of spectacular action to dazzle the viewer with. Lots of humour too with all the old jokes and cliches coming out again.

I also enjoyed The Martian hugely. It shows that a story can be extremely well told in multiple media. The movie is excellent, the book is better. Both take advantage of the media they are presented in. Great visuals on screen, plus the inner thoughts and feelings that can only be passed over via the written word. I would thoroughly recommend both reading the movie and watching the book.

Or the other way around. I think that's the way it goes.

Ok, that's movie of the year out the way early !

Also watched Minions, which had good jokes but fell a little flat for me. Wait for freebie watching, it's not in the same league as either Despicable me film.

Spectre had spectacular action. I enjoyed it despite the threadbare plot and very silly backstory. Recommended.

I enjoyed Jurassic World too, although this movie was another which had serious gaps in its plot and some major silliness going on too. But I did enjoy it and at some point, I'll acquire the dvd/bluray.

Spectre and Jurassic World demonstrate that if you're in good company (and I was in excellent company), you can have a highly enjoyable evening. And I do miss the movie nights that the Work-ish mob had. Company makes the movies much better. Unless it's the company I had in the Martian - a bunch of kiddies who should really have been in school at that time. What can I say, my opinion on things tends to change depending on whether I'm in a happy mood or a sad mood and certain people really brighten my day. Or evening.

More films?

Mad Max - thoroughly recommended. It's a wholly valid update of an old classic. It improves on that old classic in pretty much every way.

Inside Out - good psychology, on the whole I thought this one was a bit Meh. A decent movie, as per all Pixar ... but not as good as they can come out with.

The Man From Uncle - GO SEE THIS ! It's another one which takes something old (the super cheesy old series) and makes a genuine improvement. The interplay between the major characters adds humour, charm and a lot of other good stuff. I need this movie.

Maze Runner : Scorch Trials - not bad. A worthy sequel to a good beginning. It's a promising enough series that I happily acquired the first book to check out. Not got to reading it yet.

Avengers Age of Ultron - a disappointment. It had some potential, it had action. But every time the action quietened down, they disrupted the dull moment by pulling more robots out of the scenery for some silly destruction. Need to do better in the next movie.

San Andreas - a silly but still pretty decent disaster romp. Please - if I have a heart attack and The Rock is nearby, DO NOT LET HIM NEAR ME ! Good movie though, must pick it up when it gets cheap.

Hunger Games 4 : Mockingjay 2 - a fitting end to a tired and weak series of books. Spectacular but somehow disappointing.

Insurgent - enjoyed this one, in contrast to Hunger Games, the setting is a little more believable.

That's what I can remember seeing this year (translation - I peeked at IMDB's list of popular films in 2015 and used it as a memory jogger). I'll be watching a couple more by the end of the year.

Star Wars is coming ! SOON ! I was attempting to avoid the hype on this one but after seeing the latest trailer, I'm really curious to see what they've done with the universe. I enjoyed all 6 movies so far, plus there are some cracking scifi books that just happen to be set in the universe. Up until the New Jedi Order series which tore it all down for me and destroyed the scifi romance of the universe.

Yeah - I was a Star Wars fan. The Timothy Zahn novels are excellent and intelligent, the X Wing saga is darn good fun with great fiction by Michael Stackpole and Aaron Allston. I also played the Tie Fighter game to death, although I didn't get on well with XWing or the various strategy games.

Yep. I'll watch the new movie, actually getting hyped about it now. I think I'm watching it on my own though as a Last Friday Before Leave treat. The usual movie buddies don't want to see it and I wouldn't subject Cupid's Gift (she of the Spectre and Jurassic World enjoyment enhancement !) to it.

The other movie I think should be good is the Charlie Brown Peanuts movie. Yep, trailer got my attention. It's out at awkward time though. It may lose out just through people being away.

Any more movies you enjoyed seeing this year ? Gosh that's a lot I've seen this year. Movies are awesome. This one is just kicking into ultra high gear, time to pause it and get more popcorn.

Cya !