[fredgarvin]

My wife loved it , just as I did. I suppose 30 minutes could have been cut, they could have dressed everyone in silly spandex hero costumes and filled the dialogue with fart jokes and two syllable words. Like the rest of the dreck they are putting out.

[WGH]

My female friend was the first one to suggest we go see it - two weeks before it opened. I had to wait a week before the theater started selling tickets online.
She loved it.

I thought the length was perfect, not many movies take the time to tell a story anymore. Anyone familiar with Denis Villeneuve's films will know he likes to tell a story:

Arrival - 116 minutes
Sicario - 121 minutes
Incendies - 130 minutes
Prisoners - 153 minutes
Blade Runner 2049 - 164 minutes
 

[Rob Babcock]

I agree!  I never looked at my watch; the story was simply allowed to unfold organically, in it's own time.  The characters were lovingly drawn with patience IMO. 

[2gumby2]

I never saw the original Blade Runner, but I was entertained by this one. I wouldn't consider it to be a great film, but it was worth seeing. I rarely go to movies anymore because there just isn't much produced by the film industry that is worth anything. The last movie I saw in a theater was Alice in Wonderland with Johnny Depp and I think that was about 6 years ago. I feel the golden age of quality film making is gone and I don't believe contemporary film makers will ever approach the creativity and quality of days gone by even though they have enhanced film making techniques with modern technology.

[Wind Chaser]

I never saw the original Blade Runner, but I was entertained by this one. I wouldn't consider it to be a great film, but it was worth seeing. I rarely go to movies anymore because there just isn't much produced by the film industry that is worth anything.

I couldn't agree with you more. Maybe my expectations/hopes and standards are just a lot higher than they should be, because I'm rarely impressed by anything I see anymore.

[fredgarvin]

I never saw the original Blade Runner, but I was entertained by this one. I wouldn't consider it to be a great film, but it was worth seeing. I rarely go to movies anymore because there just isn't much produced by the film industry that is worth anything. The last movie I saw in a theater was Alice in Wonderland with Johnny Depp and I think that was about 6 years ago. I feel the golden age of quality film making is gone and I don't believe contemporary film makers will ever approach the creativity and quality of days gone by even though they have enhanced film making techniques with modern technology.

I agree with your sentiment but, not knowing your tastes, you might try watching Sicario. It reminded me of the good films of the 70's and early 80's. Before moralizing became the trend.

[charmerci]

I feel the golden age of quality film making is gone and I don't believe contemporary film makers will ever approach the creativity and quality of days gone by even though they have enhanced film making techniques with modern technology.

I don't often watch blockbusters or just go watch films in general but I think films are so much better now. (Though you don't say what the golden age of films is.) The realism of how people act now is much better than before the 70's.

[wushuliu]

I agree with your sentiment but, not knowing your tastes, you might try watching Sicario. It reminded me of the good films of the 70's and early 80's. Before moralizing became the trend.

Funny. I consider the 70s the peak of moral cinema, culminating in the great film Being There.

[fredgarvin]

Funny. I consider the 70s the peak of moral cinema, culminating in the great film Being There.

I love that film. I t didn't disappoint me at all in how it handled Kosinski's material. I feel that as the 80's progressed there developed a trend in films to identify the villain- without moral ambiguity, or relativism. A Sicario in that era would have treated the principal characters differently, imo.  They may have even received their comeuppance.

[Rob Babcock]

I too think we're in the midst of a golden age of film.  Maybe half of my favorites of all time were made in the last ten or fifteen years.  True, there are plenty of bad films but there was never any lack of those.  Now there's a strong independent cinema and lots of smaller studios cranking out great stuff.  As example was the Amazon film, "Manchester by the Sea."  So many channels outside of the main studio system doing amazing stuff.

[2gumby2]

I don't often watch blockbusters or just go watch films in general but I think films are so much better now. (Though you don't say what the golden age of films is.) The realism of how people act now is much better than before the 70's.

O.K., I'm not a film historian so I don't really know what might be considered the golden age, but I was thinking the 30's through the early 60's when I made that reference. A silent film called Birth of a Nation that was made in the early 20th century is really outstanding. It's over 3 hours long and used actual civil war veterans as consultants for the battle scenes. I didn't think I could sit through a 3 hour silent film, but I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish.

[WGH]

I agree, now it is real easy to see excellent foreign films anytime you want. The independent film choices are expanding too, one example is the amazing Tangerine which was filmed using three iPhone 5s smartphones.

The success of Tangerine gave Sean Baker the opportunity to make the highly anticipated Florida Project staring Willem Defoe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwQ-NH1rRT4

[wushuliu]

I agree, now it is real easy to see excellent foreign films anytime you want. The independent film choices are expanding too, one example is the amazing Tangerine which was filmed using three iPhone 5s smartphones.

The success of Tangerine gave Sean Baker the opportunity to make the highly anticipated Florida Project staring Willem Defoe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwQ-NH1rRT4

Tangerine looks interesting and I know it's acclaimed. I'll have to give it a watch.

[wushuliu]

I too think we're in the midst of a golden age of film.  Maybe half of my favorites of all time were made in the last ten or fifteen years.  True, there are plenty of bad films but there was never any lack of those.  Now there's a strong independent cinema and lots of smaller studios cranking out great stuff.  As example was the Amazon film, "Manchester by the Sea."  So many channels outside of the main studio system doing amazing stuff.

We're in a golden age of television. Film? No way. All you have to do is compare Oscars from 1970 through say 1985 with 2000 through 2015. No contest. And indie cinema is the weakest its ever been. That, I think is not up for debate. Small studios? What small studios? Amazon is not a small studio plus they are hemorrhaging money in their movie and tv division because they are not hits. Netflix is spending over 6 billion, yes billion, on original content. That ain't no small studio. Meanwhile Soderberg can barely secure financing for his movies and he's got an Oscar and multiple hits under his belt.

[charmerci]

We're in a golden age of television. Film? No way. All you have to do is compare Oscars from 1970 through say 1985 with 2000 through 2015. No contest.

That seems to be more a result of the Oscars actually picking the best films of the year back then! I mean, I just watched LA LA Land and I'm at loss to figure out why it got such raves, outside of the amazing cinematography of the opening shot and Hollywood's tribute to itself. It was watchable but most of the storyline was just pretty bad. It changed from a musical to a story about jazz and living out your dreams. Then, it just seemed highly implausible why the two couldn't stay in touch via social media and cheap airplane flights.

There's always been good and bad films throughout its history. I just feel that today there are far more realistic movies than there were in the past. As an example, Casablanca to me was unrealistic because all the lines were too concise and pat. As soon as one person finished their line, the next person started right into their lines. No pauses or breaths, their speaking styles were too precise and concise. People don't speak like that all the time.

[Tyson]

We're in a golden age of television. Film? No way. All you have to do is compare Oscars from 1970 through say 1985 with 2000 through 2015.

I think this is officially known as golden age-ism.  Next thing you know, you'll be telling us how music was so much better in the past, and how society in general has been in decline

I do agree that the Academy Awards seems to have been usurped by politics and money, so you can't really look to them like you could in the past.  On the other hand, there's been some amazing films over the past 10 years:

Zero Dark Thirty
Looper
Ex Machina
Blade Runner 2049 (although I haven't seen this one yet)
Nightcrawler
Gone Girl
Nocturnal Animals
Whiplash
Tree of Life
Mad Max: Fury Road
John Wick
Black Swan
Arrival
Antichrist
Skyfall
Clouds of Sils Maria
Into the Abyss

All within the past 10 years, and there's a ton of stuff I haven't even seen because I've been so busy watching older films these past 10 years (to catch up on my film history).  Don't get me wrong, there are some great, great films in the past.  And there's also a lot of crap in the past.  In fact I'd say the ratio of great movies to mediocre and crap movies out about 1 in 10.  Which adheres to Sturgeon's Law pretty well 

[WGH]

More and more I have deep diving into a directors back catalog. Denis Villeneuve is the latest, when I looked him up I discovered he directed Arrival, Sicario and Prisoners, three films I liked but never remembered who directed them (who does?). I recently watched his earlier films Incendies (excellent) and Enemy (intense with an obscure ending). Both are worth your time.

Bong Joon-ho is another director to explore, he is recently known for Okja (2017) and Snowpiercer (2013) but I enjoyed his earlier films as much if not more: Mother (Madeo) (2009), The Host (horror, comedy, satire) (2006), and Memories of Murder (2003). The last three are 100% South Korean and subtitled but well worth tracking down and can easily fit into the current golden age of film.

Mother


The Host


Memories of Murder

[Rob Babcock]

I care very little for the Oscars nor do I need a cabal of ninety year old white men to validate my film choices.   Going back to 1950 I'd wager that my favorite film of the year won Best Picture perhaps once or twice, maybe never.  TV is probably great but I see virtually nothing on TV, just a couple of programs on Netflix and a couple on HBO.  That's not a refutation, I simply don't have a lot of free time nor a lot of interest in TV although there are some good things out there.  I guess it's that it's hard enough to maintain quality and focus in a two hour movie and nearly impossible to keep a high quality TV show going for years without dropping the ball.

At any rate, this is about Blade Runner 2049 which to me circles right back to our being in a golden age of film.  This to me was a stunning film, not flawless but ambitious and fascinating.  I think of the masterpieces of recent years and it just confirms my opinion:  Boyhood, Lost in Translation, Her, Once, Manchester on the Sea, Hell or High Water, Brokeback Mountain, Drive, Sicario, No Country for Old Men, La La Land, Still Alice, The Arrival, A Serious Man, Sin City, A History of Violence, Apaloosa, Hard Candy, There Will Be Blood, The Fighter, Melancholia, Million Dollar Baby, Ex Machina, Interstellar, The Grand Budapest Hotel, 12 Years a Slave, Zero Dark Thirty, In the Heart of the Sea, Whiplash, The Dallas Buyer's Club, The Hurt Locker, Blue Valentine, Nebraska, American Hustle, The Big Short, The Hateful Eight, Baby Driver, Wind River, Little Miss Sunshine, The Nice Guys, Gladiator...so many new classics in the last decade and a half!  And that doesn't even touch on the great trash/guilty pleasures of which there are so many!

[THROWBACK]

OK, guys. Here's a flick that is on no one's best list but mine. Not SciFi - - so, off topic - - but just a warm human comedy that will relax your toes. Some of the scenes are LOL funny; others bring only a been-there chuckle of recognition. You've seen the "underdog triumphs against overwhelming odds" plot before. But something about the film brings me back time and time again. Ready: "the Best of Times," starring Robin Williams, Kurt Russell, Pam Reed and Jack Palance's daughter, Holly. Try it: you'll like it.

[glynnw]

I am one of those who felt the new BladeRunner 2049 was too slow paced.  Out of respect for other's opinions, I followed a suggestion and last night I watched Sicario.  A fine movie, but again in a few places it was too slow paced for me.  Now stay with me here - this all reminds me of a girlfriend I lived with over 40 years ago.  She was quite bright, getting her BA in 2 1/2 years.  But she was a strong analytical, needing to look at all sides of any situation.  I am close to the opposite.  One evening we were playing some board game and I placed her in a position that required her to make just 1 move - she had no other choices by the rules of the game.  After she looked at the board for what felt like 24 hours, I reached out and moved her piece. This resulted in our biggest fight ever.  This is probably why some of us loved the pacing of 2049 and others felt it dragged. These thoughts occurred to me while watching Sicario.  Not so much a matter of right vs wrong but the conflict of different personalities.