Movie Reviews of 2017: My Take on the Year's Hits and Flops

[Jameson]

I go to the movies quite a bit. I've always loved the experience and find it's fun to go into a new world for 1-3 hours. Usually I have at least one movie that gets me super excited each year, but this year was a big flop unfortunately. These are the ones I saw accord to my purchase history. I am curious if anyone saw any movies that they loved/hated this year as well.

1) Star Wars: The Last Jedi (5/10 for me)
2) Lady Bird
3) Murder on the Orient Express
4) Justice League
5) Thor: Ragnarok
6) Happy Death Day
7) Blade Runner 2049
8) IT (loved this one, but had no idea of it ahead of time)
9) Atomic Blonde
10) Spider-Man: Homecoming
11) Guardians of the Galaxy 2
12) Life
13) Get Out (very good)
14) Logan (pretty good)

 

[Joppy]

I go to the movies quite a bit. I've always loved the experience and find it's fun to go into a new world for 1-3 hours. Usually I have at least one movie that gets me super excited each year, but this year was a big flop unfortunately. These are the ones I saw accord to my purchase history. I am curious if anyone saw any movies that they loved/hated this year as well.

1) Star Wars: The Last Jedi (5/10 for me)
2) Lady Bird
3) Murder on the Orient Express
4) Justice League
5) Thor: Ragnarok
6) Happy Death Day
7) Blade Runner 2049
8) IT (loved this one, but had no idea of it ahead of time)
9) Atomic Blonde
10) Spider-Man: Homecoming
11) Guardians of the Galaxy 2
12) Life
13) Get Out (very good)
14) Logan (pretty good)

I went to see The Last Jedi for old time sakes.. There was a group of high school students talking and laughing through the whole movie... Luckily it wasn't that great anyway.

 

[Greg]

Ha; very interesting this topic should come up - I went to see "The Darkest Hour" last night and I thought it was a very good production. It flowed and the acting was good. Worth a visit, I say.

 

[MarkFL]

I stopped going to movie theaters about 10 years ago, because a large number of people in the audience have their phones lit up all through the movie. It's virtually impossible for me to become immersed in the experience when the theater is lit up like the 4th of July. (No)

 

[Joppy]

I stopped going to movie theaters about 10 years ago, because a large number of people in the audience have their phones lit up all through the movie. It's virtually impossible for me to become immersed in the experience when the theater is lit up like the 4th of July. (No)

Terrible, isn't it.. Funnily enough I made an attempt to sneak in during a quiet time of the day, hoping that there would be fewer people. And there was. Only 10 or so, no 4th of July issues, only some inconsiderate teenagers.

I had a theory that perhaps it's better to go during busy times. At least minority groups that want to talk will feel more awkward doing so in the presence of a larger crowd. But your point about phones would surely ruin this! (haven't sat in a full cinema for probably 10 years also).. Oh well (Smirk).

 

[I like Serena]

I've learned that a cinema experience is best with a couple of friends on a Premiere night (or perhaps the day after).
That's because then you'll have the people around that are really enthusiastic about it.
Of course you'll have to book way in advance to get seats, or certainly to get reasonable seats.
The type of cinema also matters, since some of them look like a factory hall, while others carry an atmosphere of mystery and wondrous things.

Oh, and in my country, any movie starts with messages that phones have to be off.
Moreover, many cinemas are shielded nowadays so that phones don't even work.

 

[MarkFL]

...Oh, and in my country, any movie starts with messages that phones have to be off.

We have those messages too...they are simply ignored by many and there's no enforcement of this whatsoever.

Moreover, many cinemas are shielded nowadays so that phones don't even work.

I would love to see something like that here...that, and ushers who will actively eject those who are disruptive in any way. :)

 

[I like Serena]

I would love to see something like that here...that, and ushers who will actively eject those who are disruptive in any way. :)

Just checked, and apparently the gsm jammer has been deemed illegal after all, also in my country, although there are still countries that do allow it.
The reason is apparently that it violates the rights of a person and it prohibits access to the emergency number, even if it's only in the theater room itself.

In the Netherlands this equipment is forbidden, but in Russia this type of equipment can be used. With a mobile phone jam, the signals for mobile phone traffic can be disturbed. As a result, it is not possible to use the internet or to call in the oldest theater in St. Petersburg. Your cell phone simply has no range.​

 

[MarkFL]

I suspect these folks playing with their phones during the entire movie have no idea what it means to be immersed (they just want to be able to say they've "seen" the latest movies), nor would they care even if they did know what immersion means.

I get that people might wish to know if there is a family emergency, and so they could have their phone set to vibrate, and if a call comes in, they could quietly leave the theater, go to the lobby, and find out what's going on. But, I know most will not or cannot exercise such restraint with their phones. They likely feel uneasy, queasy and even a bit greasy if they can't check their favorite social media site at least 3 times per minute.

 

[I like Serena]

I suspect these folks playing with their phones during the entire movie have no idea what it means to be immersed (they just want to be able to say they've "seen" the latest movies), nor would they care even if they did know what immersion means.

I get that people might wish to know if there is a family emergency, and so they could have their phone set to vibrate, and if a call comes in, they could quietly leave the theater, go to the lobby, and find out what's going on. But, I know most will not or cannot exercise such restraint with their phones. They likely feel uneasy, queasy and even a bit greasy if they can't check their favorite social media site at least 3 times per minute.

I remember reading an article about an experiment to disallow teenagers to use their phone for 1 day.
They were allowed anything else, like playing board games and such.
Turns out that about 70-90% (I think) of those teenagers got definite symptoms of anxiety and withdrawal symptoms, and couldn't complete the experiment.
On the positive side, many of them did agree that it shouldn't be like that, and agreed to repeat the experiment at a later time.

 

[Greg]

Canadian audiences must be very well behaved. ;)

 

[Jameson]

I've learned that a cinema experience is best with a couple of friends on a Premiere night (or perhaps the day after).
That's because then you'll have the people around that are really enthusiastic about it.
Of course you'll have to book way in advance to get seats, or certainly to get reasonable seats.
The type of cinema also matters, since some of them look like a factory hall, while others carry an atmosphere of mystery and wondrous things.

Oh, and in my country, any movie starts with messages that phones have to be off.
Moreover, many cinemas are shielded nowadays so that phones don't even work.

I think this is a great point about when to go see a movie. Lately I've been really annoyed by the loud talking during movies, which I think is due to me going on Friday/Saturday evenings where alcohol is served. In contrast to this, I once went to a Marvel midnight showing at a very basic theater and the audience was ready to call out anyone who talked at all. It was great.