| Author | Message | ||
     Aesquire |
Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves. Good! Especially if you are a fan of the games, board & video. Easter eggs aplenty. My sister & Brother in law saw it with me and it was their second time, and then promptly went back to Neverwinter with their Xbox. I'm sure they caught more than I did. My D&D lore is from the original books, and a bit obsolete. Acting was decent. Tropes? yeah. Lots. It's D&D. I'll grant the "Plot" is a bit thin. It's a "quest movie" and thus it's "get the magic thing to save the day" and action scenes galore, and any gamer could predict the plot twists, but none of that matters. Did I get invested in the characters, and root for them? Did they sell a fantasy world? Was it Funny? Yes, Yes, and Snicker, heck YES. | ||
| Aesquire |
https://9gag.com/gag/az2KYPB NFSW language. Complaint about Hollywood & a few story Ideas they are too Fracking lazy to do. | ||
| Aesquire |
Guardians of the galaxy pt.3 Great. Don't miss a single second. Hit the can before. There's no good place to go pee. You really want to have seen 1 & 2, Thor trilogy, and the Infinity War duo, but I think you'd be good if that was all you'd seen of the MCU. Can't think of anything to say that wouldn't be a spoiler, so just go. Casting, effects, plot, comedy, pathos, & stingers... But the credits is worth sitting through, anyway. (Message edited by aesquire on May 13, 2023) | ||
| Aesquire |
https://redstate.com/brandon_morse/2023/07/10/you- need-to-see-nefarious-n774243 This does not seem like my cup of tea, but dang! the clip is well done. | ||
| Crusty |
Don't waste your time going to see The Flash. Even if they let me in for free, it still cost too much. | ||
| Aesquire |
Is that from watching it, or the hype? | ||
| Crusty |
I spent money to see it. Unfortunately. | ||
| Aesquire |
https://instapundit.com/595205/ Tom Cruise is 60... Obviously made a deal with something supernatural. In my prime, a century ago, I would have loved to jump a motorcycle off a cliff and base jump into the arms of Haley Atwell. Or just a smooth soft field. But no one gave me a motorcycle to throw away, thought I was talented and handsome enough to make a movie with, and now that I think about it, in 1994 Haley was 12, and I'm not Joe Biden*. I haven't paid much attention to the MI franchise, but dang! The stunt work is awesome. | ||
| Aesquire |
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1231 2807/SARAH-VINE-mother-daughters-verdict-Barbie-ma n-film-bigot-loser-daughter-totally-loved-it.html Not one I'm likely to seek out to watch, but in several months my Sister will probably get me to watch it on her Xbox. She turned me on to the Kevin Smith films, after all. Re: Culture War... If you're going to insult men, by all means go over the top to self parody! Any guy feeling oppressed by a Barbie Movie is either a snowflake or idiot. ( redundant, sure ) Ken! My Sister is rather proud Her Barbie doll was the first to hang glide. Her brother built a glider for her. ( she's got a picture of Her Barbie soaring Kitty Hawk past the Memorial, iirc that was Barbie's 4th glider, and it flew much further than the Wright brothers first powered flight. ) | ||
| Aesquire |
https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/barbie-revie w-beyond-her-ken/ar-AA1e2nI8 Snicker. Ken puns. | ||
| Aesquire |
https://twitchy.com/fuzzychimp/2023/07/25/remakead isneyclassic-has-twitter-users-imagining-some-hila rious-remakes-of-disney-classics-n2385692 If someone remade the ORIGINAL stories Disney was "inspired by", the Rat Kingdom would sue! Since they're doing it, it's legally ok. I specify inspired by and not "stole and changed to appeal to kids" because a LOT of Disney classics are old European ( a few Arabic and American ) fairy tales. I read all those original stories in books and Wes Craven or other horror movie makers would have a blast scaring people with the original stories. The Brothers Grimm stories alone are R rated gold for a scary movie series. I read 1001 Nights as an adult. It's not a children's story. It's a collection of old stories from the middle East ( mostly Arabic and Persian ) and the Aladdin story got tacked on later after the original was translated. The books framing, is a nasty horror story in itself, far removed from the Grandfather reading to a sick child used in The Princess Bride. Personally I'd prefer the original horror story and the highly censored Disney Classic, to a boring Woke Remake, but you do you. Taste is taste. | ||
| Aesquire |
Oh, feel free to use Scheherazade's desperation and plight as a metaphor for modern child abuse in schools and antisocial media. | ||
| Aesquire |
https://graboyes.substack.com/p/bambi-meets-godzil la-part-deux I audited a film class a century ago, class was full, but was in the college theater, so I watched most of it from the lighting catwalk. Some great films. The first slow motion, first trails special effect in a dance scene, that film with the sled as plot hole excuse... ( no one was present during his last word so the premise is wrong... Just like Indiana Jones and the Big Bang Theory spoiler ) As a speed reader, captioned films don't bother me much, some are better than the dubbed versions. And there's some great French Cinema. Sturgeon's Law applies, but The Fifth Element, La Femme Nakita, and The Professional are all top tier contenders for any Best list. And I LOVED Bambi Meets Godzilla. And Dark Star. Highly recommended! Both film school projects who's creators went on to some fame... | ||
| Aesquire |
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/08/gue st-film-review-2023-a-barbie-odyssey.php I've been watching fury & ideological angst erupt because of a movie almost none of it's drama queen critics actually saw. About Barbie dolls. And patriarchal society, which is as imaginary as Barbie's Malibu beach house. ( unlike the beach front mansions of dishonest fake eco warriors ) With my local theater closed after the Coronapanic and rise of Karen Tyranny wrecked the economy, I now have to go dozens more miles to see a movie in a theater. And a diminished budget thanks to a corrupt regime better paid by Red China, apparently to destroy Western Civilization prior to WW4. So Barbie might be a visual extravaganza worth comparing to Fantasia, and the actors brilliant, but I'm probably going to miss out in favor of a Spiderman cartoon. Oppenheimer & Barbie are the memes of the day. I can comment on the arguments made without seeing either. The Bomb saved millions by ending WW2 without the invasion of the Japanese mainland islands. Oppenheimer was unfairly attacked by members of the government for his fears about the H bomb. And guilt about dedicating himself to weapons, having a highly intelligent mind capable of seeing multiple sides of the arguments involved. Barbie was an unrealistic physical role model for girls. Famously a rip off copy of a German sex doll. ( I thought the Japanese were kinky weirdos!  ) But the dolls before Barbie were near shapeless children and baby dolls. Barbie was a teen, or adult, with secondary sex characteristics and a career, or at least hobbies. A Corvette! Astronaut Barbie. Dr. Barbie. A doll with a profitable family,friends, boyfriend. Barbie the Feminist movement target. Also, at my house, Barbie the model hang glider test pilot after the tragic crippling of GI Joe in a Big Wheel Incident. Many stories have more than one side. | ||
| Aesquire |
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| Aesquire |
https://9gag.com/gag/aggLwA6 Haven't seen The Marvels yet but I eventually will. Not sure if it will be in theater. I can tolerate some poor work in movies. I can ignore the useful idiot actor and his stupidity if he can sell the role and make me care about his character. Hard sometimes but I'm not paying for politics... directly. But when a film maker goes off on their audience for being evil racists etc. just for complaints about their work, bite my shiny metal butt. Oh, I get Hollywood types have to have big egos. I even get being upset about criticism. The utter unwillingness to defend their point of view or interpretation and attacking the character of critics is proof that they have indefensible views and/or are actually garbage. I can respect arguing for your ideas with honest responses. You get zip credit for cowardly personal attacks. | ||
| Aesquire |
SPOILERS..... http://marionharmon.com/2023/11/18/the-marvels-is- fun-but-not-marvelous/ | ||
| Aesquire |
https://www.amazon.com/stores/David-Drake/author/B 000AP8T1C David Drake has passed. His Hammers Slammers series is still solid military SF, and I highly recommend The Forlorn Hope. ( set in same 'verse ) and the Belisarius series. American Vietnam War Veteran, his work runs from alt historical fiction to science fiction to fantasy. Often his Afterwords will reference the historical context. He would base a story on Roman campaigns set in Interstellar Empires. He will be missed. | ||
| Crusty |
David Drake wrote several novels that rank among my favorites. You're right; he will be missed | ||
| Aesquire |
https://9gag.com/gag/aYV3Z Game Of Thrones anniversary. Wrecked by bad writing at the end of a fantastic run. I've come to the conclusion that one of my favorite shows, Firefly, died a merciful death before it jumped the shark and got bad. Probably in season 3, so I still regret missing perhaps a season of good work by an amazing cast. In the case of Firefly it wasn't Woke BS that Probably would have ruined it, though. The originator and producer seems to have gone a bit wonky with his work after Buffy. I couldn't stand the Dollhouse show as it's premise was pretty darn horrific and the rebellious payoff not even hinted at early enough. I wonder if there was a nasty rage component in that show's creation, like "These Hollywood monsters won't let me do dramatic themed storytelling. So I'll troll them hard with a show about sex slavery that they'll love and never get I'm mocking them!" | ||
| Whisperstealth |
I liked Dollhouse. Horrific premise, yes. Closer to reality than most want to believe? Also yes. They tell the truth quite often in our programming, we just don't pay attention. Or don't want to. | ||
| Aesquire |
I thought the acting in Dollhouse was great, Eliza Dushku is a great actress, and maybe if I'd stuck with it I could have been onboard. One of the best ways to show off an actors chops is a body swap story, like Face Off. Dushku & Gellar did a masterful job with that on Buffy showing a nigh perfect understanding of each other's characters. Dollhouse, was a twisted version of that genre. And an editorial on one of the greatest movies of all time. And I'm Serious. https://pjmedia.com/ed-driscoll/2024/01/07/surely- you-cant-be-serious-n4925288 | ||
| Aesquire |
https://pjmedia.com/catherinesalgado/2024/01/12/sh atner-suggests-moderns-feel-threatened-by-capt-kir k-n4925429 One of the great speeches of the 20th century. | ||
| Aesquire |
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/01/bla zing-saddles-history-month.php One of the great movies of all time. | ||
| Aesquire |
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| Aesquire |
https://freebeacon.com/culture/how-watching-televi sion-became-a-chore/ | ||
| Aesquire |
https://twitchy.com/aaronwalker/2024/02/15/if-you- think-deadpool-is-funny-and-she-hulk-isnt-youre-a- sexist-or-something-n2392923 Big Deadpool fan from the comic books, and the movies are surprisingly good. Loved X Force, and it's surviving member, Domino, especially. She got some of the best stunt/cgi scenes I've seen including the brutal school rescue. But I was a She Hulk fan from her origins. Yes, she pioneered the 4th wall break years before Deadpool, in print. I enjoyed the series too, and am disappointed I won't get Season 2. It wasn't close to perfect, especially the season ending. But it doesn't deserve the hate it got from people who didn't even see it, just reacted to critics of a twerking scene. ( which I thought was properly funny in context. ) There's a huge difference in budget. Major Motion Picture vs. budget series. Not old Dr. Who budget, ( every planet was the same quarry in Wales or an abandoned building ) but it showed in some CGI. Even Deadpool (1) had to cheap out somewhere, and the joke where they gathered a huge bag of weapons for the Big Final Battle & then forgot them in the taxi, was to Save a bundle on gun special effects, as well as comedy. My point is most of the hate and noise is from political idiots. There's a great couple of pages in the online comic Grrl Power, where the heroine, who typically saves the day by being genre savvy, ( co-owner of a comic book shop ) is being invited to join the Super Team, and the PR lady asks about the heroine's Deadpool t-shirt, looks up the comic ( picture of Deadpool blowing his own brains out ) and frantically demands she take it off. ( insert stripper joke by heroine, further freaking PR department ) Both Deadpool & She Hulk are Supposed to be edgy, uncomfortably on point, sarcastic stories. But completely different characters and situations. Deadpool is dark and literally flirts with Death, personified. She Hulk is a frustrated Good Guy who has to Save Christmas with ( 4th wall Smash ) Santa?! Give me a break!!! And the movies & series have different takes on sex and love. Deadpool has the great Love Story, albeit R rated. While She Hulk is the Bad Dating Scene, Super Celebrity edition. Ironically, Deadpool ( movies ) is less angsty on the relationship front, while She Hulk ( series ) is dealing with more "realistic" problems. Like the guy who dumps her because her normal human form isn't the Amazon he was hot for. That's painful humor, and the difference between male & female character spins on the genre. Apples and oranges, and you can like both, either, or neither. | ||
| Aesquire |
Heck of a cast. And it's supposed to be over the top and genre savvy humor. One of my favorite parts of the entire game series is in Borderlands 3 where The Bad Guys start a Cult of "screaming war meat" with streaming video and the tag line, "Like, Subscribe, Obey!". And the genius casting of Penn Jillette ( a vocal atheist ) as Cult media personalities Pain & Terror, constantly urging listeners to the ever present radios to contribute and worship the Bad Guys. ( sounds like he had fun ) But the movie has characters from 1 & 2, and game geeks analyzing the trailer frame by frame to get all the references. ( "hey, that's a submachine gun, not a pistol, in the game!" referring to a gun vending machine in a split second image ) For those unfamiliar with Borderlands, it uses a data saving ( hah! ) shader/texture system that gives them a signature hand drawn look. A FPS that follows classic quest game convention, but with guns as the primary money source for players, picking up dropped weapons from slaughtered foes and from chests to trade in vending machines. And the brag that the gun generation system means millions of variations of insane weapons with elemental effects that can set fire to, electrocute, dissolve in acid, etc. Enemies. Chainsaw bayonet? Hah! How about circular saw axes? | ||
| Aesquire |
https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/202 4/04/18/that-civil-war-movie-is-a-symptom-of-holly woods-problems-n2637853 I find the author's complaints that the boring agitprop movie isn't as good as his own books on the subject amusing. And the Studio's choice to skip any rationalization for the events? Just from the trailers I have no idea who I should be cheering for. Or why. That could be a choice to try to not offend potential customers, but it's pretty obvious that they intend to insult/defame/blame somebody, and it's Hollywood, so it's us. | ||
| Aesquire |
https://twitchy.com/amy-curtis/2024/04/26/hex-girl s-made-ugly-n2395543 The body positively movement slid from "Barbie causes unrealistic expectations" ( true, she's 7 feet of plastic ( surgery ) ) to "terminally obese is pretty, or you're a misogynist!" . Typically a projection lie/ploy, since... Nevermind the shrink speak. Basically it's the evil Queen from Snow White, who has ISSUES and would murder anyone she thinks is prettier, but she's 5'3" and 327 pounds. There's a Lot of anger... |
