I get caught on movie watching this time of year, since the TV shows I like are done or on a break.

The Watch - It was interesting and different than I thought it would be. Overall, I was entertained.

Snow White and The Huntsman - Very beautiful cinematography and a decent amount of action. It was good.

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter - It kept me entertained throughout the film. A good one indeed.

A Cabin in the Woods - Interesting film it had some elements of Cube, EvilDead, a few others. However, it felt wholly original. I liked it and was entertained through the whole film.

Django Unchained.

Thought it was fantastic. Probably my 2nd favorite Tarantino movie after Pulp Fiction. Great dialogue, great performances from Fox, Waltz and DiCaprio. Perfect blend of spaghetti western, 70's blaxploitation and Tarantino's touch.

Few of my recent watches:

Django Unchained 3.5/5 - I enjoyed it, but I don't think it even cracks Tarantino's top 5. It lacked the overall tension that Basterds and Pulp Fiction had, and I was largely bored with Jamie Foxx until the last hour of the film. Waltz and DiCaprio were fantastic, though.

Batman: Year One 3/5 - If it wasn't for Gordon voiced by Bryan Cranston, this film would've been pretty bad. Whoever voiced Batman was awful.

Justice League Doom 3/5 - Solid animation, but there are way too many characters in the movie. For such a thin plot, the voicework was tremendous.

Superman vs The Elite 4.5/5 - My second favorite DC Animated film behind All Star Superman. Loved the dialogue and the narrative. I found myself wanting more and more of Superman being awesome.

End of Watch - I was expecting it to be good, but it turned out to be really good.

2012....expected it to be a pointless disaster movie, but actually had some serious moral dilemmas. not the greatest film ever, but not bad

Aliens. Now that was a ing awesome movie! If I thought Alien was better than Prometheus, this just sent the latter down to Davy Jones' locker! I guess I liked this sequel more because I nearly crapped myself watching the first one for being soo damn scary.

I like Aliens, but it's very overrated imo.

Originally Posted by moon_knight I like Aliens, but it's very overrated imo.

This isn't really a discussion thread, but I'd like to know how?

I liked Django Unchained, except for one thing. I expected the movie to end after the mansion shootout the first time , that felt like where the movie should have ended, and most probably would have in other films. Tarantino has this thing thing about screwing with the pace (right word?) of a movie it seems. Right when you think it's over and the credits are about to roll, another 30 minutes of film.

Aliens is one of many fun 80s action films, especially considering the original was a blend of sci-fi and horror. You didn't know if Ripley was going to survive, and you sure as hell didn't know how she was going to do it without any weapons. For the sequel, Cameron gave her a lot of stuff, so you do get that visceral feeling of satisfaction when she destroys an entire nest, and when she kicks that Queen into space. I can understand why it does seem overrated.

Originally Posted by dohdough This isn't really a discussion thread, but I'd like to know how?

This should become more of discussion thread.

Aliens just felt like a standard action movie with an Alien skin. The plot is straightforward and the characters aside from the main ones were lame. Also people praise for blending horror and action, but the only thing that had horror was the atmosphere.

Yeah Alien might be one of my top 3 movies and I really borderline hate Aliens. If someone were to turn a dark sci-fi/horror film today into an action fest sequel, it would be destroyed by fans. Somehow since it was made in the 80's, and at least has the Aliens still being badass, it gets by and not called out.

Originally Posted by Clak I liked Django Unchained, except for one thing. I expected the movie to end after the mansion shootout the first time , that felt like where the movie should have ended, and most probably would have in other films. Tarantino has this thing thing about screwing with the pace (right word?) of a movie it seems. Right when you think it's over and the credits are about to roll, another 30 minutes of film.

I didn't have that feeling, but I also didn't expect to see a scene from Kill Bill with guns and white dudes or to see Foxx's junk...handled by another dude . Then again, without the "added" stuff, we wouldn't have seen Tarantino with a crazy accent or a happy ending . Although considering the length of the movie and how different it is, I can see why they didn't go a Kill Bill route with a two-parter...too much of a risk.

Originally Posted by moon_knight This should become more of discussion thread. Aliens just felt like a standard action movie with an Alien skin. The plot is straightforward and the characters aside from the main ones were lame. Also people praise for blending horror and action, but the only thing that had horror was the atmosphere.

At the time, it was as different as you can get, but having a horror atmosphere is the point of calling it action horror flick? I'm not saying it's the best movie ever, but I think you're selling it a little short.

Originally Posted by DestroVega Yeah Alien might be one of my top 3 movies and I really borderline hate Aliens. If someone were to turn a dark sci-fi/horror film today into an action fest sequel, it would be destroyed by fans. Somehow since it was made in the 80's, and at least has the Aliens still being badass, it gets by and not called out.

I feel indifferent on both, but I think I prefer Aliens.

I completely respect and give props to what Alien did back when it came out, but by today's standards (and even when I watched it for the first time about 10 years ago) I didn't really find it even a little scary. I can see how it was back then though.

Maybe I'm just really desensitized.

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Originally Posted by dohdough At the time, it was as different as you can get, but having a horror atmosphere is the point of calling it action horror flick? I'm not saying it's the best movie ever, but I think you're selling it a little short.

I don't think atmosphere alone is enough to make it part of the genre, but what I meant is people who praise it make it seem like theres more horror than just that. Also I don't agree with the for its time argument, we shouldn't give a movie more praise based on when it came out.

Originally Posted by moon_knight Also I don't agree with the for its time argument, we shouldn't give a movie more praise based on when it came out.

That there is literally crazy talk.

Saying x movie was scary for its time, doesn't mean its scary now.

Originally Posted by moon_knight Saying x movie was scary for its time, doesn't mean its scary now.

If a movie does something first, then it should get more praise than a movie that comes along later and copies it.

Just a matter of whether you care about film history and understanding what a film did for its time, how it affected form history etc. or not. It may not scare you now (I find it scary/tense personally). But one can still respect what it did for the time, same for things like The Exorcist that people don't find scary today because they've been desensitized by the prevalence of violence and gore etc. in modern movies.

If one is just watching movies as entertainment, then the film history stuff doesn't matter and older movies can be harder to enjoy at times.

Originally Posted by moon_knight I don't think atmosphere alone is enough to make it part of the genre, but what I meant is people who praise it make it seem like theres more horror than just that. Also I don't agree with the for its time argument, we shouldn't give a movie more praise based on when it came out.

Well, it's not really just an action movie either. It pretty much created the "space marine" genre...literally...as in they were literally space marines. It was never meant to be a pure horror movie. Most of the praise I hear is about the chemistry between the cast, production, design, atmosphere, action, soundtrack, and how it was a solid, well put-together film; none of which includes it fitting solidly in the horror genre when it isn't strictly a horror movie.

If you don't think a movie deserves more praise cause it's old, you're crazy. Aliens did it far better than a vast majority of the movies that tried to do it after. That's the reason why it's so well regarded. But hey, you're free to like whatever movie you like.