Topic: The Movie Thread

Watched Lego Movie 2 today with the family.

Way worse than the original which my Daughter loves. It's far too intense and there doesn't seem to be a reason for it initially as it jumps around all over the place. The second half is better especially the jealous Batman section which is brilliant. It's hard to recommend even if you are a fan of the first film.

Hereditary. One of the scariest movies I've seen in recent times. And that is not hyperbole. From memory only The Babadook has come close (and The Haunting on Hill House) to really chilling me, this also reminds of The Witch. Some people will not like it, either the slow pace of the first third, or how it all comes together in the final third (and the answers that come with that). It builds tension like some of the best horror films, not afraid to slow things down or to have long a long scene of silence. There is one scene which will stay with me for a long time, I was quite shocked when I saw it. The soundtrack helps with that the building of tension. It is so unnerving and purposefully disjointed. I had to pause the film at one point as I thought someone nearby was playing music loudly, but no it was the score in the film. It is so well crafted too, everything from how it is shot, to the previously mentioned score all come together to create something quite artistic. Not to say it is overly artsy, as I usually find there is no substance behind it all. All the cast are superb, but Toni Colette is outstanding and definetly deserves all the accolades she receives. Oh yeah and it is on Amazon Prime here in the UK.

@JohnnyShoulder Interesting. I liked it - but it sat far more as a 'slow burn' supernatural thriller for me pretty much right up until the last quarter of the film. The family cult story takes a little too long to simmer and the final race to tie it together feels rushed. Honestly I feel like there's an extra 20/30 minutes of the film somewhere. Performances made it work though.

@JohnnyShoulder A gazillion percent yes, everything you said! My favourite horror film. Just perfect 👌

Saw Alita: Battle Angel and The Prodigy recently. The former is a decent adaptation of a science-fiction manga with a surprisingly grounded cyberpunk setting, while the latter is an interesting spin on the "evil child" concept in horror movies. I rather enjoyed both.

@KALofKRYPTON Yeah I totally understand how some wouldn't like the final act. For me, I was happy to have the pay off after all the build up. I've seen so many films when it all falls flat towards the end, or they don't build up the tension at all.

@jacobia Ah yes, I thought you would agree! Thanks for the recommendation!

@Ralizah I’m curious about Alita: Battle Angel. It has an interesting aesthetic, and James Cameron [despite his polarizing reputation as a person] tends to make great films. But I just don’t feel the urge to see it in theaters for some reason. Maybe it’s the awkward title. How would you rank it or compare it amongst Cameron’s other works (Titanic, Avatar, Terminator series, Aliens, etc)

@Th3solution @Ralizah
I've very little interest in Alita myself, but my very most Wapanese mate is extremely complimentary about it - and he's pretty hardcore!

@JohnnyShoulder Not that there's anything wrong with the slow burn, but the final act feels like it was made for the trailer.

@Th3solution Well, Cameron only helped to write and produce the film. He didn't direct it. Robert Rodriguez did. If you don't recognize the name, then know that he's the director behind the legendary Spy Kids films.

But it feels kind of Cameron-ish anyway. I'm not a huge Cameron fan (more of a Ridley Scott person myself), but I'd say it's more along the lines of something like Avatar in terms of quality. There's not a hugely deep story at play, but the presentation is phenomenal, the 3D camera work (if you see it in theaters, see it in IMAX 3D; it's a looker) is great on the big screen, and the fights are pretty decent if you don't mind all of the obviously CG cyborg people. The setting itself is fantastic and unusual for cinematic cyberpunk (likely the result of it drawing from a complex and established manga franchise).

I'll always like Terminator 2 the most of all the films he has been involved with, though.

@KALofKRYPTON It's pretty faithful to the original Japanese property for a big-budget Hollywood movie. I was surprised. Anime/manga adaptations are almost always a disaster, but they clearly respected the source material in this case.

@Ralizah Thanks. I’ll consider it. Depends if I get in the mood for going to the cinema or not. Saturday is open so I’ll report back if so.

@JohnnyShoulder Whoop, whoop!!! Ari Aster’s new film announced 👍👍👍👍.....Fingers crossed, as Hereditary is going to be a tough one to follow. I am really excited and sincerely hope this will be brilliant 🤞. https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3548402/a24-provides-firs...

@jacobia Cheers for the heads up! It's got Will Poulter in it, who is one of my fave younger actors around at the moment. He was truly horrible in Detroit.

After being so impressed with The Haunting of Hill House, I've been looking at director Mike Flanagan previous films. I've already seen Oculus, which I was also enjoyed. I see Hush is on Netflix which I've already added. I think I've seen Ouija: Origin of Evil, but not Gerald’s Game which I've never heard of.

I have to get these horror films in quick, I tend not watch em when the evenings get lighter longer.

@KALofKRYPTON I prefer the slower build up, too many recent horror films play all their cards too early. Like I said though, for me there needs to be some kind of pay off. It Comes At Night for example had all the build up and tension but not not enough happened to satisfy me. Shame cos the rest of the film is really good, superbly directed and edited with some amazing performances. I like the trick they did with the aspect ratio.

@JohnnyShoulder I like a slow thriller too. Something about Hereditary bugs me though - as I say, the final act seems a lot like it could be a different film altogether.

@JohnnyShoulder Yep, Mike Flanagan is also a star in the horror genre 👍

From iO9's Captain Marvel review:

"Let’s be clear: Brie Larson is the very definition of Captain Marvel. After watching the film, there is no doubt in my mind that there is anyone else that encompasses everything that Carol Danvers is and what she represents to comic book fans everywhere."

So, Marvel's try-hard, multiple-reboot, not particularly interesting, second-string, 'only significant because of Rogue' character then

It strikes me that CM is really the only female Marvel character of even slight significance (and flashy super powers) who operates outside of a team allegiance to be the female lead standard bearer; as, in all fairness - Storm is by far the best of Marvel's female characters - by a long way!

This review is pretty gushing, rather like they're wanting to force the film to success (which it will get anyway) and significance in retaliation of the reactions to Brie Larsen. Captain Marvel is poor character that Marvel has struggled to do anything with for a long time - this (the movie) is probably the best way to get anyone to give a toss.

I'm sure the film is either good or just fine. It will make $$$

Reviews of this film, and the marketing in general, give me flashbacks to Hillary Clinton's presidential run in 2016. The obnoxious, non-stop feminist slobbering from people eager to be on the "right side of history."

They don't need to do that. It'll do fine. It's a Marvel film. DC's Wonder Woman did well without this sort of obnoxiousness, too.

I'm sure the film itself is fine as well. It's a Marvel movie. Has there ever been a bad MCU movie? Even if I personally dislike a film (like most of The Avengers movies), I still admit that they're competently made productions.

PS: R.I.P. Rotten Tomatoes' "Want to See" button. Although it's not nearly as massive a loss to backlash against internet wrongthink as the forums on IMDB were.

@Ralizah I think the key with Wonder Woman was everyone involved just being excited at what they'd made and went out of their way to convey that along with being gracious about how awesome it all felt.

With CM (a lot like with Black Panther), there's a lot of arrogance and self elevation being projected; "if you don't like this you aren't one of the good guys" type of sentiment. As with a lot of toxic (Urgh, sorry) left and right positioning, as soon as you take the stance of superiority - pointing down at others who can only be the 'bad guys', you lose a lot of sympathy.

Also of course, it helps that Wonder Woman is actually the top of the tree, genuine article, important and loved character! 😂

@KALofKRYPTON I remember the media practically lynched the poor dude who gave the first negative review to Black Panther and "ruined" its perfect Rotten Tomatoes score. I skipped it at the time because of the toxic (it really is an apt weird choice here) atmosphere developing around it. I saw it months later in a Disney theater, though, and it was actually quite good!

Critics and "cultural figures" did the same thing with Ghostbusters: hyping it up because of feminist identity politics and out of a need to 'stick it to' misogynistic trolls. It was only later, once the culture war moved on to something else, that a lot of these same people were willing to admit that the film actually sucked.

@Ralizah Black Panther was alright, Mid-tier Marvel with some pretty forced and confused messaging though. Also, it really didn't reinvent the wheel.

@Kidfried I hope you enjoy the film. As I say, it's very little chance of actually being bad.

On the Captain Marvel topic, maybe I’m living a little bit of a sheltered existence given I pretty much avoid broadcast television and most media in general, but the hype seems a little muted to me. It’s only recently that I heard much about CM and the film releases in a few days. It’s definitely a set up for a social commentary, akin to Black Panther, but hopefully it’s not overtly trying to make a political statement. I don’t mind films delving into moral examination and analysis of it’s done artistically, in fact I welcome it, but in a big budget popcorn flick that’s not the primary outcome I’m looking for.
The Marvel gravy train is likely running out of steam, so a misstep would derail the momentum. I don’t think they’ll risk that. And I know that the movies keep making bank, but I feel the wind is shifting a little bit and the superhero well is bound to run dry eventually. Maybe I’m reading the tea leaves through the lens of the cancellation of the Netflix Marvel shows; maybe I’m just expressing my own and my friends concerns about the oversaturation of the market — but the point is, all it will take in my opinion to usher in the ‘beginning of the end’ for the MCU is to shoehorn excessive social justice narrative.
I never saw the Ghostbusters reboot (mercifully) but I get the feeling it was just the popular media that tried to frame it as a ‘feminist identity politics’ film rather than the film itself having any overt political narrative. (I could be wrong though and I don’t plan to actual watch the apparently awful film to find out.) It will probably be the same here. I plan to go and see Captain Marvel as a run-of-the-mill moviegoer wanting a good piece of entertainment, devoid of any pre-existing political expectations, and it will probably be fine. If I come out feeling like I just watched an episode of Crossfire, or having been shamed that I have a Y chromosome, then I will be really disappointed.