| Author | Message | ||
     Aesquire |
I just read my back e-mails, and discovered I owe Toro an apology. A combination of not paying attention, not reading another's post, and making assumptions. All on me. I am sorry for my attitude, and spouting off with assumptions not backed up with facts. Please don't leave the group or fail to speak your mind because of my failings. I screwed up in public, and a public apology is in order. Thank you. | ||
| Aesquire |
 A very under rated movie. If you haven't seen it, please do. | ||
| Aesquire |
Spoiler free Black Panther review. Flaws? A few of the visually darker scenes were hard to make out action. Black costumes and night make that inevitable, I suppose. There were a few scenes cut I am told that might have given you a better view of personal relationships, but that's speculation. And this is probably just me, but with a bevy of beautiful shaven headed warrior women, I lost track of who was who a few times. ( where I think a few more minutes to distinguish between them would be helpful, the scenes I was told were cut ) I suspect a second viewing would help. Pros. Impressive villains, a Marvel weakness at times. Great performances, and you get the motives, not just "I Will Kill You" yelling. Well done character arc. Good acting all around. And some great actors, established and new. Humor, drama, and action well proportioned and with no "where did that come from?" moments. No left field action filler scenes, a problem with some films. The Casino arc in the latest Star Wars movie comes to mind. 2 Post credit scenes, both after the flashy graphics credits, and after the regular black and white credits at the end. Both worth the wait. It's a Marvel Movie and no non-idiot is standing up to leave until the very end anyway, so relax & enjoy. Over all Thumbs up. I'm not ready to call it the Best Marvel MCU film, but it's up there. I have no doubt I'll see it again, and the DVD will be on my shelf when it's available. | ||
| Aesquire |
https://nerdist.com/hurricane-heist-trailer/ Might be the sleeper hit this spring. Silly premise, over the top action. Laughed hard at trailer at theater. | ||
| Aesquire |
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/blac k-panther-will-african-american-films-no-longer-be -considered-unicorns-1087823 It's not African-American films we want to see. Not Italian films. Not British films. No. No. No. It's great films. We want Boyz in the hood, and Finest Hour and Wonder Woman and Black Panther. We want people growing. Fighting for something. We want to live for a brief time in London, Wakanda, Themyscira, Asgard, LA. And believe it. I find it amazing that the studio heads didn't understand why Wonder Woman had the no man's land scene. Yes, it's short, undoubtedly cost a lot per second of screen time, and it's a bit jarring in mood. It's the pivot point of the story. The moment when the idealistic girl steps into her Princess self. Not cups of tea royalty. The heir to the crown of the greatest warriors in history. The woman who CAN cross no man's land and Does. It's also the Costume Reveal. The turning point of an Action movie. For Diana, the time of waiting is Over. The gloves are off. The damage begins. I have to conclude studio heads don't understand the customer. And they don't get that we want authenticity. The divisions in their market are in their heads. Not ours. | ||
| Aesquire |
http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2018/03/04/ rest-america-didnt-bother-see-years-oscar-nominees / I didn't see them either. It's been years since I saw more than 2-3 Oscar pics. Partly because I don't bother to go to the theater unless it's a special effects or grand vista film. ( did The Phantom Thread show asteroid strikes on Paris? Did I miss the great western this year too? ) | ||
| Aesquire |
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| Aesquire |
I actually think it a good thing that the artistic elite consider superhero movies beneath them. Or we'd get films that make the DC brooding dark conflicted whiny hero movies look like optimistic musicals. Even they noticed that fewer people pay to see crazy fashion designers than Winston Churchill. 2017 was a really good year for superhero movies. Logan, Wonder Woman, Thor Ragnarok, Spiderman Homecoming. .... 4 movies that I would argue were the best movies, no matter the genre, last year. 2018 started with a bang. Here's hope for another year of great films. | ||
| Aesquire |
Here's a spread of opinions. Pity so few Oscar nominations came through as predicted here. Was Shape Of Water really an awesome film? Better than???? https://www.cinemablend.com/news/1725859/2017-supe rhero-movies-ranked-by-oscar-potential Awards I'd have loved to see include Patrick Stewart best supporting actor. Patty Jenkins best director. Dafne Keen & Tessa Thompson in a tie for best supporting actress. Imagine that acceptance speech. "Our characters are the most dangerous here this year. Girls rule!" https://www.buzzfeed.com/keelyflaherty/superhero-m ovies-2017-ranked?utm_term=.vueoWjJ6p#.ueLxE3gY4 https://www.cbr.com/2017-best-year-for-superhero-f ilms/ https://thegameofnerds.com/2017/11/24/ranking-the- superhero-movies-of-2017/ https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/best-superhero-mov ies-2017/ http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/herocomplex/l a-et-hc-wonder-woman-crying-20170605-htmlstory.htm l | ||
| Aesquire |
https://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/a-wrinkle-in-time-di rector-ava-duvernay-uses-racism-to-explain-away-ba d-reviews/?utm_source=PJMCoffeeBreak&utm_medium=em ail&utm_term=March2018 Politics in movies.... just makes audiences want to stay away. I'm planning on seeing Wrinkle In Time soon, since the book is a true classic. It was the introduction to science fiction for many children, and a deep philosophical story about faith, truth, and conformity. If I don't like it, it sure won't be because some guy I've never met has more melanin than me. It might be I enjoy it despite the purging of Christian thought.... After all that worked out so well for... the Third Reich. | ||
| Macbuell |
The movie supposedly is nothing like the book. Why waste your time or money just to be preached at. | ||
| Macbuell |
Saw first two episodes of The Punisher tonight. So far so good. | ||
| Aesquire |
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| Aesquire |
http://ew.com/tv/2018/04/09/westworld-creators-wan t-to-prevent-spoilers-by-spoiling-all-of-season-2/ Spoiler alert? Clever marketing and an interesting ......... If you enjoyed Westworld, you probably wonder how they can top last season. I do. I was not expecting much, a redo on an obscure, if well done sci-fi suspense/horror movie with a follow-up tv series no one remembers, with good reason.  How am I supposed to get into a story I know the ending to? But they got my interest. Violent, even shocking, plot twists.... The trick was to not read or listen to anything about it, to keep the mystery from unraveling too soon. If you didn't catch season one.... By all means watch it first. Be warned, it's violent. There is nudity. Binge watching Westworld will be like riding a front loading industrial dryer for your psyche. No padding, and a feeling that this may have been a terrible mistake...... Hold, it! What?????? | ||
| 86129squids |
Patrick, I do appreciate your commentaries here... I've succumbed to my Amazon account recently to watch both "Thor- Ragnarok" and "Defenders", watched that one last nite. "Thor" was NOTHING like what I expected. Never thought I'd see a campy/silly "Brah" treatment for the screenplay- emphasis on the "play". I did enjoy the actors individually getting to play around, but it kinda got old. Oh well... "The Shape of Water" might fix things. My sweetie has no interest in the wacky movies I like, but given that's supposed to be a period piece from the 60's-70's, it might fly with her. | ||
| Aesquire |
Campy? Yes. Deliberately. Visually it is a tribute to Jack Kirby, a major artist in comics history. The bright colors, and the humor are a backlash against the DC broody dark Superman and Batman films. Some dark moments, it can't be all fun. It's also a change from the previous Thor movie, The Dark World. New director, New look. '80's garish colors vibe. Sorry it wasn't your cuppa tea, I had my own disappointment in the Batman movies with Bane & B vs. S..... But Ben Affleck surprised me by being the best Batman since Michael Keaton. My "Yes!" parts of Ragnorak are Loki growing up a bit, Valkyrie, and Thor, having spent enough time in Earth to get selfies and e-mail, But not completely. Flawed people. Valkyrie is a broken alchoholic, a veteran denied closure by a silenced past. Loki has flashes of remorse, never seen by his estranged brother. Blah blah, artistic merit..... Not a perfect movie. Nor was Black Panther, but overall the Marvel cinematic universe folk are doing well. I admit I'm just happy that we finally have the technology to make this kind of movie and it not be B-movie junk. I'm thrilled the good ones get the spirit right. Disappointed when they miss. Justice League? Dark, unconvincing special effects big monster/threat. A few really great moments, a feeling of lost opportunities. Little wins, Batman mentors Flash, etc. No doubt the change in director mid stream hurt it. Like Suicide Squad, a sense of time ran out before they could do it right, last minute re writes and edits, studio interference, panicked choices. You get the feeling they ran both past a test audience, panicked, ordered a re do with photography completed, and idiot executive notes like "cut that boring scene ( where it makes it make sense )" & " more gratuitous Butt shots, Harvey Weinstein likes those ". I enjoyed the Butt shots. I'm a feminist, but NOT the upright kind. But. Even I have to wonder where all the Amazonian body armor went to. It's funny, but I used to be a Joss Whedon fan. Big fan of Buffy & Firefly. Dollhouse, bothered me, despite being a fan of the main actress. I enjoyed Avengers, and defended director choices in Age of Ultron..... Probably was wrong about that. I can usually ignore Hollywood lefty political crap. After reading his leaked Wonder Woman script, hearing about Batgirl, and seeing his latest work..... No longer a fan. When Hollywood gets around to regurgitate Buffy, I don't want Joss anywhere near it. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
MOvies generally suck balls these days. You want to see a good movie? Go watch 48 Hours. Back when movies were good and only 1 hour and 30 minutes. And only cost ya 5 bucks to see. And you didn't have to deal with people who can't put down their cell phones either. | ||
| Aesquire |
Forbidden Planet. If I had a dollar every time someone who's seen it the first time said it was a Star Trek rip off, I'd have a pizza. (1955) Don't let nostalgia glasses blind you to the fact that most old movies suck too. I admit that other than Hidden Figures, and Disney cartoons, and comic book movies, there is very little good coming out of Hollywood. But there are a few. CIA with Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart from '16 was good. Red 2, Jumanji, both excellent. I'm looking forward to the next Jurassic Park, did I miss the Rampage video game movie? I haven't seen Ready Player One..... And both Amazon & HBO & Netflix are doing mini series that are darn good. True, for every Westworld, Game Of Thrones & Bright, there are a dozen piles of debris, but that's always true. See Sturgeon's law. | ||
| Aesquire |
I agree on 48 hours. The cop buddy movie..... White/black, young/old, male/female, black/asian...... The point was the tension between cultures and the "first x cop on the force" culture shift. We each group hit mainstream normal, as old prejudice died, ( a good thing ) it gets harder to make a good one. Cop/criminal, 48 Hours. Human/alien, Alien Nation. Human/orc, Bright. All darn good, even if not well reviewed. Prejudice may never go away, but black & female cops are not weird anymore, so our society has made progress, despite the professional victim exploiters. Orcs may take some time. | ||
| Aesquire |
http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/feature/a825774/m arvel-cinematic-universe-in-chronological-order/ I think the movies, and the "one shots", at least the ones on DVD, like "A funny thing happened on the way to Thor's Hammer" and "Agent Carter" are all the background you need to get all you need to enjoy the MCU, and the upcoming Infinity War. Agent Carter and Agents Of Shield are a nice fill in. ( I've missed parts of both) The Netflix Series are optional. ( even though this thread is so titled. ) I doubt there's any direct connection. ( But Luke Cage or Daredevil, etc. might get a cameo, At least Jessica has earned one. ) | ||
| Aesquire |
I just, this evening, watched The Incredible Hulk, with Edward Norton. Just got it on DVD, and it's as good as the Eric Bana version was bad. Not the crown jewel of the MCU, but a decent Hulk movie. I'd seen it before, but I lacked it in the collection of DVDs, and it was $5 on Amazon, so, why not? If you haven't seen it, it's worth watching. | ||
| Aesquire |
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_from_the_As hes A trilogy by David Weber collected in one volume. Protagonist US astronaut is mapping the back side of the Moon, when he is intercepted by a Big alien space ship. Things are not what they seem..... Lots of things. Would make a good series. Or just the first book, a movie. Spoilers aplenty in the wiki article, so I'll just say ..... What if every conspiracy theory was real? There really is a dark cabal of really bad guys manipulating mankind, responsible for most wars, poverty, suffering, going back before.......... Good action scenes, decent characters, novel ideas. Not a waste of time for any hard SF fan. Tech and weapons Darpa hasn't dreamt of. How about a grenade that opens a hole into hyperspace, causing not a bang, but making a spherical area...... Go away. Yard thick armored door? Not any more! | ||
| Zac4mac |
I'll always prefer Marvel to DC. Came across something from the past recently, my membership card from the MMMS Merry Marvel Marching society. Found out about Frank Zappa and the Mothers in the back of FF, Spiderman, X-Men. IIRC, all the ad box said was "Mothers of Invention $4.95" And an address. Z | ||
| Crusty |
It's going to be an Interesting next few months, if you like Marvel Comics movies. Next week, Infinity War opens, then Deadpool 2 opens on May 18 followed by Ant Man and The Wasp on July 6. I'm looking forward to seeing all three. | ||
| Crusty |
I just spent the last couple of hours reading reviews of Infinity War. It sounds like Marvel has created another blockbuster. I'll probably go see it on Old Farts Tuesday (Seniors get a break on the price then). | ||
| Aesquire |
First day madness. I'll wait, even though I'm eager. I'm hoping it beats Avatar at the box office, just because James Cameron complained there are too many superhero Movies.  | ||
| Aesquire |
https://marionharmon.com/ The new Wearing The Cape book came out this week. There had been errors in the "final" draft, so all the pre-orders were cancelled, and it was revised before release. I ( swear word ) Love this series. Set in a real world, where people get powers in times of stress, sometimes. ( usually you die ) The main protagonist is Astra, a 18 year old 5'3" blonde cutie with, as she puts it, the figure of an underdeveloped Tinkerbell. A Flying Brick, she's in the top ten in strength in the U.S. with her power set ( flight, toughness, super strength... No super breath or heat vision ) She can take on a main battle tank and win. Well written, a "realistic" take on the subject. What does a super do most of the time? Meetings. Studying law and procedures, approving bobble head dolls. Getting her picture taken for the cover of Hero Beat ( the tween magazine for Super Fans ) Of Course there's marketing, and PR, and tv shows... The running gag is that while some guy that looks like the Hulk can just walk up and stop a situation with intimidation, Astra, who looks like everyone's kid sister, has to fight. She can't intimidate anyone. Then again, she trains with a flying brick who trains Super Seals & Super Rangers, and other Super Soldiers, and punches well above her weight.  Highly recommended. The first taste is free ( the first chapters of Book one at Amazon ) | ||
| Aesquire |
http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2018/04/24/ avatar-director-james-cameron-says-enough-already- with-superhero-movies/ Hyper masculinity? Wonder Woman. Get back to me when his next remake of Fern Gully is playing. | ||
| Aesquire |
The Sequel We Deserve  | ||
| 86129squids |
It'd be a tough job to do it without Barf or Joan Rivers... |
