https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thrillist....ars-inspiration
Not only did George Lucas stole the premise of Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress for Star Wars but he also borrow the intergalactic elements and Han Solo from the Valerian comic book. I don't see plagiarizing just only the rest of the world wasn't familiar with the source material.
The French comic book scene mainly are high concept sci fi. Ridley Scott and James Cameron did openly referenced them for their works in their bluray commentary. So not sure your assessment is correct???

The comic book predate Star Wars. The comic book is so dense with out of the world concept and hard pressed to say who did what first. Fifth Element is a proof of concept for Valerian as technology hasn't caught up to allow Besson to make it back then.
Case in point if you think Miyazaki's Valley of Nausicaa is highly original but actually a reinterpretation of Moebius's Arzach. Every single fantasy creations copied LOTR model and GOT is no exception to that. Modern superheroes are copies of Greek gods mythology and the list will just go on and on.
So I won't pin on film makers for not being critically original with their works. After all the basic foundation of storytelling is they are copies of one source or another....even the bible. It's all about how the story being told and not entirely it has to be original.
Tarantino not ashamed to say he steal his story from elsewhere but he knows how to remix it to become his own thing.

There are no facts, only interpretations.
Friedrich Nietzsche

Vallerian being a bad movie that is a different subject altogether from who copied what, when and how.

I am not disputing it as a good movie. The hypocritical me will watch it via streams cause the ticket price from where I'm at atm almost triple from malaysia ticket price.

Under Sandet/Land of mine - The aftermath of war you don't see.

Upfront this is a powerful drama that looked at the consequence of war. POW of Hitler youth being forced to clear mines that left at the shoreline of Denmark. The first ten minutes will have you on the edge as you witness racism of the first degree and kids taking turns to demonstrate how to diffuse a mine enough to give you a heart attack. It's a story of the hard assed sergeant being tasked to lead the boys as tension and danger creeps it everytime the sweep the beach. Once they get to know each other, a powerful human connection story unfolds.
Dunkirk will vow you with big budgets and spectacle, this one will resonate with you and reward you with an emotional satisfaction when the film ends. Officially released in 2015 but got picked up by US last year and was nominated at the Oscar best foreign film.

The Wall - A decent filler movie in between.

Surprise there are reputable people behind this little movie. Doug Liman directing it with Aaron Taylor Johnson leading it and supporting from John Cena. It's your standard single location of a cat and mouse thriller that have you second guessing who will come out alive in the end. Don't mistake this as action pack exercise as it is more interested in back and forth reverse psychology banter between the hunted and hunter. It's a good watch when you have nothing else to watch and certainly I would rather watch this over The Hitman's Bodyguard.

Think the biggest accomplishment of WW was having Patty Jenkins front and center in the usual sausage party of film directors that operate in the summer blockbuster arena. Prior to her...Kathryn Bigelow only the other female film director that usually associated with having success in the action genre. Not here to point out how good the movie was or not...just a baby step progress in Hollywood giving female directors a fair shot at the big boys table. Perhaps taking chances in female centric projects that can do the equal if not better.
Am looking forward to Jenkins back at doing her own passion project and her older stuff pretty much the dark and disturbing tales of broken people.

Wind River - An almost great crime caper.

Certainly this movie does not have the high profile status of Sicario and not as award buzzing of Hell and High Water...it is no slouch either. The murder mystery is there alright with enough hook to keep chasing the lead. Here you get to relive why Jeremy Renner matter as a strong character actor. This is just back to his hungry actor phase where he act the shit out of his role. Mind you if you did like Sicario, Wind River does have those building tension that exploded in a very satisfying violence that was earned through the storytelling and not for the sake of staging an action scene. It very worth watching for me.

Not to debate which one is a better movie....there are slew of similar underrated or not so popular action thriller that you can give a look.
Hwayi : A monster boy
A Hard Day
Vengeange Trilogy by Chan Wook Park
The Man With No Name
The Chaser
Yellow Sea
If the more dramatic type..Bong Joon Ho's Mother and Memories of Murder will always be the best of Korean Cinema.

Atomic Blonde - Atomic Bore
This movie had plenty of conflicting tones and it is not what the trailer trying to sell you as. It took itself too serious to a point aping a John LeCarre novel but the premise and set-up just pure boring. I was watching it by skipping one scene after another. If you are there solely for the kicking butts segement think you are ok to start the movie at 45 mins which you have no issue piecing everything together when the movie ends. Clearly not my cup of tea.

The Villainess - The only one action movie you should watch this year.

It does not have the most original premise and by the number you'll be able to predict how and what gonna happen next. The pacing and the actress performance just so damn good and you will overlook the shallow plotline. I even dare wager the John Wick team feeling intimidated. The action sequences is a cross breed of hardcore henry and the raid. It just keep adrenaline pumping especially that jaw dropping opening sequence.Don't buy the HK bluray version as those are the bastard localized version with half plus six subtitle and should wait a bit for the US import with better transfer. This movie just obliterate Atomic Blonde by so many times over and can certainly give John Wick a run for its money.

Heard good things about this flick...is it on netflix yet or Mr.Sparrow?

Haha...malaysia tastebud can not lari from capes and tights. That is high art in the eyes of general audiences.

Do agree 2049 is one of the better movie for this year and destined to suffer the same fate of it's predecessor. A very good film that bomb big time, so does a handful of influential masterpieces.

Ok....will wait a bit for netflix cause really underutilizing my subscription.

A Taxi Driver - A touching zero to hero tale.

You see Song Kang Ho, you don't think and just watch it. Either you will be heartbroken at the end or just felt very inspired by the movie. The story of a broke taxi driver embroiled with a very trying circumstance to do the right thing at all cost. Granted some bits are fluffy and too good to be that coincidental but nevertheless deeply touching. A pretty inspiring movie with enough laughter and heartache.

Blade of the Immortal - Samurai Highlander

Upfront this is not the best Takashi Miike work and not a good adaptation of the manga. To really capture the 30 volumes of carnage and brutal sword fights is a fool's errand. The movie is a compilation of the deranged villains that Manji and Rin encountered. The nuanced story set-up and much of the excellent characterization totally lost in translation to film. If you don't care about story and just want to watch non stop samurai action maybe its worth a look.

If you somehow got interested in the characters of the movie...highly recommend to deep dive into the manga. It's Clockwork Orange meets Highlander. There are plenty of Ramsey Bolton and Hannibal Lecter archetypes in the villain roster and it gets really dark that simply impossible to put on film.

Veli 90's flavor.....😅

Detroit - Gnarly depiction of an ugly chapter of racism.

This movie will hit you like a truck. The intention not just a wake-up call but it forced you to experience the event real close. It just unrelentless with the violence depiction that bordering torture porn. To rub more salt to the wound the bad guy wins. Give it to Kathryn Bigelow to stage really intense scenes that just ticking like a timebomb with realism. The actors give everything they got and not just playing a role. Will Poulter with his portrayal as the main antagonist simply unreal. He will go places with the terrible triple A racist character. Don't watch this to find resolution to a terrible human nature traits, watch this as a reminder we have not progressed enough....

American Made - Decent watch but trapped in your standard rise and fall cliche of gangster movie biopic. Instead heavy emphasis on violence it's airplane smuggling contraband with the crazy real life controversial drug lords and dictator. It's not bad at all just not enough gas to be a stand out.

This post has been edited by 6so: Dec 8 2017, 01:35 PM

Speaking of BDT....a very sexy trailer just drop.

Salivating for this movie next year, impressive director behind the camera as well...Stefano Sollima from the acclaimed Gomorrah tv series. Iirc there's one more after this.

Bright - Another Frankenstory in the tradition of suicide squad. Really a big waste of time as too many plot threads to contain the bigger story it tried to tell. Just when you about to get where the movie try to be it shift gears to be something else. Thought those evil Elves really cool but in the end they don't matter. Will Smith days as triple A seems like a slippery slope with one mess after the other.