Watch, Watched, Watching: Anybody but Superman

[polishgenius]

1 hour ago, Corvinus85 said:

Spending 10 minutes on a slo-mo scene about wheat harvesting instead of some meaningful character development. Snyder should not be given full reigns on a movie again. 

 

What do you need character development for when there's literally a roundtable scene where the characters all lay out their tragic backstories and motivations? 

It's the most on-the-nose writing I've ever seen. Fucking hilarious.

[Derfel Cadarn]

Infell asleep at some point during thr battle. I may fast forward to roughly where Inthink I got to and finish it.

May.

[polishgenius]

1 hour ago, Derfel Cadarn said:

Infell asleep at some point during thr battle. I may fast forward to roughly where Inthink I got to and finish it.

May.

 

Space Sweepers is on Netflix and while I haven't got round to it yet myself I'm 99% positive it'll be more worth your time if you want a big actiony SF kick.

 

They've got a J-Lo vehicle coming next month and I'm reasonably certain that will also be more worth your time if you want a big actiony SF kick
 

 

[Spockydog]

6 hours ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

made it into something else entirely

Yeah. Something not aimed entirely at boneheaded younglings who will unquestionably suck up any old bullshit that gets squirted out of George Lucas' bunghole.

[dbunting]

Watched  A Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare this weekend and it was pretty good. Based on real events but of course exaggerated for drama and action. It's funny how there were still "gentleman's rules" when it came to war, and special forces were non existent for the most part. It was also a nice entertainment nod to have 

Spoiler

Not really a spoiler, Ian Flaming in the movie and that the main star is reportedly who he based James Bond on.

Definitely worth a look if you enjoy this type of movie.  Saw a trailer for Badlands  a movie based on the video game. Only mention it because I got an instant Guardians of the Galaxy vibe from the trailer. I'm sure that was enough to suck me in and I'll be watching it. 

Watched Hotel Artemis on Max.  It felt like they watched John Wick and took the Continental Hotel out of it and turned it into a hospital and made a movie out of it. That said it was pretty good, Jodie Foster played the lead very well. 

Also watched The Zone of Interest.  Didn't know it was entirely in German w subtitles so that took a minute to get used to. Not sure how to feel about this movie. Man did I get the creep vibe when almost every scene 

Spoiler

there are distant gun shots and or screams. There are always scenes with smoke stacks in the back grounds. I would've been like the mother in law and took right off, just too bleak for me. She at first was like I wonder if Mrs. So and so is over there, I liked her drapes.... then at night as the furnaces kept going it really started to sink in.

I can see why this was up for awards because it definitely makes you think and see things and wonder how, looking back now, these people just acted like normal. Like this was just any old neighborhood. 

I do have a question, 

Spoiler

what was it that touched his leg while he was fishing in the river?  I just though seaweed type thing at first but his reaction and the cleansing scenes after showed ash from the obvious but I can't make out what touched him.

 

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

3 hours ago, Spockydog said:

Yeah. Something not aimed entirely at boneheaded younglings who will unquestionably suck up any old bullshit that gets squirted out of George Lucas' bunghole.

Let me guess- you love the sequel trilogy as well ? Especially what they did with Luke cause it’s subversive and never been done in SW before right !

[Spockydog]

2 minutes ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

Let me guess- you love the sequel trilogy as well ? Especially what they did with Luke cause it’s subversive and never been done in SW before right !

No.

[Underfoot]

The premise of Elsbeth is getting a pretty stale. Who thought this was a sustainable structure for a crime show? Or is it supposed to be more of a comedy? 

Minor spoilers on episode structure in the spoiler box

Spoiler

Episodes start with seeing the motives of a murderer and the murder itself, and then pivots to Elsbeth assisting in the investigation, the police following the wrong leads but her knowing RIGHT away, and then her slowly proving the murder via cat and mouse convos with a B-list guest star-murderer and making obscure connections between things. 

They better switch up this model soon and have her be wrong or switch the POV so the audience is kept guessing.

 

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

2 hours ago, Spockydog said:

No.

I’ve noticed on this forum there is a general preference for Grimdark and Very Serious Works of Art over anything that can be construed as being light hearted or child like , and that’s a shame. Star Wars, like Superman was ultimately made to appeal to everyone but children specifically, and shows like Andor or movies like Rogue One which try to turn it into a gritty, war drama or game of thrones esque politics or morality just missed the tone of the true spirit of SW horribly IMO.

Part of the reason is you guys grew up on the OG as kids whose light hearted tone was easier to swallow as children but as cynical adults your preference has naturally drifted to darker stuff. Nothing wrong with that but please stop trying to change the core of SW for the kids of this generation so they can enjoy the same thing you guys did in the 70s and I did in the early 2000s. Andor is depressing, boring and joyless. The protagonist is a forgettable,miserable nothingburger.
 

For all the issues with the ST, I definitely prefer the force awakens over Andor any day.Ya it’s derivative but atleast it captured the spirit and tone of SW right. Unlike the showrunner of Andor who just wanted to make a dystopian thriller and projected his baggage on the SW IP.

 

It would be just as wrong if someone was to take the Dune or Shogun IP and insert random fart jokes or Joss Whedonesque quips in it to make it ‘lighter’. That would be equally wrong. Just make ur own IP at that point.

 

Ive already acknowledged my issues with CP2077 is not that it isn’t true to its genre and themes. It does , Infact a bit too well, but rather that the ending wasnt personally satisfying for me. But that one is all on me I admit. It’s a great game.

Edited April 23 by Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II

[polishgenius]

41 minutes ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

Part of the reason is you guys grew up on the OG as kids whose light hearted tone was easier to swallow as children but as cynical adults your preference has naturally drifted to darker stuff. Nothing wrong with that but please stop trying to change the core of SW for the kids of this generation so they can enjoy the same thing you guys did in the 70s and I did in the early 2000s. 

 

 

No-one has said that joyful Star War stories should stop. The only one trying to stop anyone enjoying anything here is you. 

[Ran]

Star Wars TV programs since Disney bought Lucasfilm that are kid-friendly: The Clone Wars (return), Rebels, Resistance, The Bad Batch, Visions, Tales, Young Jedi Adventures, The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wab Kenobi, Ahsoka, the forthcoming The Acolyte  and Skeleton Crew, Jedi Temple Challenge

Star Wars TV programs since Disney bought Lucasfilm that are not kid-friendly: Andor.

Let the adults have one serious dramatic TV show. Some of us even like (some of) the other stuff.

Edited April 23 by Ran

[dbunting]

3 hours ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

Part of the reason is you guys grew up on the OG as kids whose light hearted tone was easier to swallow as children but as cynical adults your preference has naturally drifted to darker stuff. Nothing wrong with that but please stop trying to change the core of SW for the kids of this generation so they can enjoy the same thing you guys did in the 70s and I did in the early 2000s. Andor is depressing, boring and joyless. The protagonist is a forgettable,miserable nothingburger.
 

 

I don't think I have ever heard The Empire Strikes Back described as light hearted. Apparently I missed the humor in Luke's father cutting off his hand or Han being frozen alive. Han gutting a creature and stuffing Luke in it definitely was a hoot and family friendly!

Most of us old people (I was 5 when I saw Star Wars at a drive in theatre on laying on top of a van) who grew up on The original trilogy disliked the prequels specifically because they were too light hearted and pandered to kids. Yes there were serious elements sprinkled in but that's all.

Rogue One was the only movie made since the originals that I truly enjoyed and will happily rewatch. 

[Veltigar]

I had the good fortune to see The Iron Claw yesterday, another wonderful film by A24, by far the most interesting studio working right now. I remember seeing the trailer for this a few months back and it seemed to me that there was some buzz for it back then, but that seems to have fizzled out somewhat as it didn't garner any nominations for the Academy Awards which is absolutely criminal, especially in a year that saw such a dearth in good male performances in both the lead and supporting category.

The Iron Claw on the other hand is full of great performances by male actors. Zac Efron has never been better, Holt McCallany as the despotic wrestling patriarch was a revelation and all the other performers from Jeremy Allen White (who goes from The Bear to playing a character with bearish strength in this film) to Harris Dickinson to Stanley Simmons are outstanding as well. Each of the male supporting performances in this film was miles beyond Downey Jr.'s pity oscar performance in Oppenheimer. Zac Efron's Kevin Von Erich was also better than Cillian Murphy's Oppenheimer to me, so it's a real shame he did not even get a nomination for his leading role here. I guess wrestling is just to low-brow for the Hollywood brass.

The story was also incredibly touching, with a lot of big emotions artfully channeled into these characters who were not equipped to healthily handle their emotions. I was flabbergasted to learn that director and writer Sean Durkin has actually downplayed the tragedy in the lives of the Von Erich dynasty, as their real life story is even more sad, but he did so to great effect.

The narrative drive in this film never lets up and I was genuinely touched by their story. This despite not knowing anything about wrestling beyond what I learned from Mickey Rourke's 2008 film The Wrestler and South Park's parody of a few years ago. That being said, I saw it with a mate who has some knowledge of the sport and he loved it as well, so I guess it definitely treats the phenomenon of wrestling with respect.

Out of all the films that had their original release in 2023, I think only Poor Things was better and it's actually really close for me in terms of quality. I'd definitely recommend seeing this film, it's a real treat and the type of film I want to see more off!

 

18 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

Spending 10 minutes on a slo-mo scene about wheat harvesting instead of some meaningful character development. Snyder should not be given full reigns on a movie again. 

I have read about this scene online and really hope someone will upload it to YouTube soon, because I'm very curious to see the result 

2 hours ago, dbunting said:

I don't think I have ever heard The Empire Strikes Back described as light hearted.

Quoted for truth. For that matter, in the original Star Wars the Empire

Spoiler

kills Luke's aunt and uncle and sets their corpses on fire (although come to think of it, they were maybe alive when the fire got to them), destroys a prosperous and no doubt thickly populated planet in one stroke and our main character than gets revenge by blowing up the Death Star which must have contained thousands of soldiers to operate.

Along the way you have the onscreen deaths of a great many rebels, either against the Storm Troopers in the beginning or against the Death Star later. If I recall correctly, Darth even chokes a few innocent people to death in his signature style.

Very lighthearted stuff indeed.

Edited April 23 by Veltigar

[polishgenius]

And, of course, it had the assassination of Greedo by the coward Harrison Ford.

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

I’m talking about tone and feel, not necessarily the plot details.ESB dosent feel depressing , badly slow paced and boring like Andor.

Edited April 23 by Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II

[Derfel Cadarn]

38 minutes ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

I’m talking about tone and feel, not necessarily the plot details.ESB dosent feel depressing , badly slow paced and boring like Andor.

Esb is slow between Hoth and Vader’s Bespin reveal

[3CityApache]

45 minutes ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

ESB dosent feel depressing , badly slow paced and boring

Neither does Andor, for most of the others, apparently. Deal with it and move on.

Edited April 23 by 3CityApache

[TheLastWolf]

May the Fourth soon be upon us. Peace folks...

[Kalbear]

9 hours ago, dbunting said:

I don't think I have ever heard The Empire Strikes Back described as light hearted. Apparently I missed the humor in Luke's father cutting off his hand or Han being frozen alive. Han gutting a creature and stuffing Luke in it definitely was a hoot and family friendly!

Look, if you can't laugh at the burned and steaming corpses of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru I don't know what you're doing in life

 

[RhaenysBee]

I added The Gentleman to my sickday(s) watchlist. 

I tried to figure out if and how it was related to the movie by the same title by the same direction. It’s not. ‘Kay. I suppose he just really likes this title?

It was rather fun for the first 5-6 episodes. Then I kinda got tired of it because it was buildup on buildup on buildup and I found myself asking, To what? For me the magnitude of the climax was disproportionate to the amount and complexity of all that buildup. The way I see it, we didn’t quite arrive anywhere surprising, impactful, meanigful, fun, punchy. It was much ado for very little. I like the dynamic, the cinematography, the editing, the style of storytelling, the visual experience, I even liked the acting quite a bit. I certainly enjoyed the whole thing more than The Gentleman movie. If they ever made a season 2 I would probably tune in out of curiosity. 

Spoiler

I would say the main problem was that this ridiculous amount of plot didn’t really come with anything in terms of character. Nobody really changed or progressed or learned anything throughout, even though the outro scene with  Bobby Glass tried to pretend otherwise. There was no lesson. Theo James wasn’t righteous, morally rigid or uncooperative in the beginning. He handled episode one problems in the exact same manner he did episode 8 problems and his attitude toward Susie or his family was also the exact same. I guess Susie had some kinda detour into the world of human emotion and impulses, but did that really do anything for her? No. Freddy was also the exact same person, unaffected by failure, trauma, etc. Mum, Mum’s Lover, Sister, Susie’s brother weren’t really characters, they are cardboard. Freddy’s wife had like 5 lines. Really with the exception of Jack, you could cut them entirely and the story would still happen. At least Jack’s coma impacted Susie and the plot. The more I think about it, the less the movie achieved.