Topic: The Movie Thread

@WanderingBullet the whole thing.

I don't mind Suicide Squad all that much, but it doesn't need a soft reboot... Or even a sequel.

In all honesty, the DC movies haven't been 'that' bad. Suicide Squad was certainly the worst of the recent DC movies and I know Green Lantern wasn't the 'best' movie either but there have been far worse movies made.

I do have some minor gripes about BvS too but I do think that a LOT of the problems are that they aren't as good as the 'Marvel' films - at least the MCU movies and not films like the Fantastic Four (the last one was worse than Suicide Squad and Green Lantern), the Andrew Garfield 'Spider-Man; films - particularly the second, and lets not forget the 3rd Xmen Patrick Stewart era movie.

It does seem though that DC wanted to use the Tim Burton 'Batman' and the Nolan trilogy as the blueprint for the tone of their movies - something 'different' from the MCU. In fairness, that works very well for Batman, dark, gothic etc and their more 'comic' book versions - (Batman Forever and especially Batman & Robin) weren't critical successes. The last time they had success before Burton's Batman was the Christopher Reeve era Superman. The 4th Superman is worse than any modern DC flops.

I am not sure that DC needs to copy Marvel and have an interconnected 20yr plus plan. They could just as easily make 'stand alone' films - even a series of Films that stand alone - like a few Wonder Woman movies or more, A few Batman, a few Superman movies etc - all that stand on their own and not necessarily bring them ALL together for a Justice League movie. That way you could have the dark and gothic Batman Movies whilst Superman can be a bit more bright for example. Getting the right setting for the right character first and foremost. It looks like DC will need a new Batman and possibly a new Superman too...

I think its much easier to get an actor to contractually agree to a trilogy and maybe an extra film or two if the Story us right for them than get them tied to making 10+ movies for continuity and commitment to the 'Universe'.

Anyway, I am reliant on these movies coming to Sky and am only at Deadpool 2, I think the last MCU was the last Avengers Movie - I haven't seen Ant Man and the Wasp or Captain Marvel. Not sure if there is any others I may of missed...

@BAMozzy No, I think just those two are all the MCU has produced since Infinity War, so you’re only 4 hours [of middling MCU movies] away from being caught up.

It does feel like maybe the MCU is slowing down, but now that they have introduced Cap Marvel and she seems to be a hit at the box office, I assume we’ll get a sequel or two for her, not to mention another Black Panther. Does anyone know if they have an actual end to the MCU storyline planned? I heard the whole thing was planned out in the phases from the beginning back around Iron Man 1 and Capt America 1 days. If so, surely there is an end in sight, at least for the intertwined storyline with the infinity stones. “End Game” has the word “End” in it, so is it really “The End”?
I would like them to wrap it up, as much as I’ve liked nearly all these movies. But now with Stan Lee having passed on, it’s a good time to just have a powerful conclusion and let us all move on with our lives.
It’s a little like a TV series that just keeps going because it’s making money — I hate it when they beat it to death until it loses its artistic merit.
Harry Potter has kinda gone to well too much also with the new prequels. They’re nothing horrible, but they do feel a little like a cash-grab and are unnecessary as the original storyline was wrapped up perfectly.
Even Lord of the Rings is getting extended Universe stuff with the Amazon Prime series that is coming, I hear.
So, point is, I wish filmmakers would stick with keeping to the story they originally wanted to tell and not overextend it just because it will sell tickets.

@Th3solution Cool, I do struggle to keep up with which movies have released and which movies have finally been shown on Sky. I watch quite a lot of films to so I often forget what happened in the last movie and where the next movie fits in. It can be worse if the 'next' movie happens to be almost a stand alone - like the Guardians of the Galaxy movies or the Ant Man. Both of these didn't seem to tie into the Avengers as such and could be watched as independent from the story arc. Its just that the 'actors' etc were then brought into the arc.

I am sure they have the next phase of the MCU - whether that features the Avengers, the characters with or without certain members of the original line-up or not. The Avengers may not have Iron Man, Captain America or Thor for example but maybe Black Widow, Black Panther and Capt Marvel form part of the 'new' Avengers in the next Phase. I cannot see the MCU stopping after the 'End' game but maybe could be the End for some characters and the Actors in those roles. I remember reading quite a few years ago that Iron Man, at least the Tony Stark/Robert Downey Jr, would be replaced by an Actress. Either way, its too lucrative and popular to 'stop'. I am certain they will have a plan moving forward. I don't think they will 'end' everything. And by End, I mean this arc and any subsequent movies will be a 'reboot' - a new actor playing Iron Man or Capt America. I am sure that the time-line will continue and we will see a new phase as opposed to starting again at Phase 1...

@Th3solution I wouldn't be surprised if one or a few of the main Avengers (Iron Man and Captain America) dies in Endgame just so they can add new characters into the next phase. Don't think they're slowing down since they have three movies this year, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame and Spider-man: Far From Home.

@WanderingBullet @BAMozzy Yeah, I would be fine with more Marvel movies if they would just wrap up and conclude the Thanos / Infinity Stone story.
If they continue with new heroes and a new master plan then it would be better imo.

@WanderingBullet @Th3solution
That is the plan.

Endgame is the end of the Iron Man/Cap era for them and a wrap for the Infinity Stones.

I'm more convinced that they may not actually kill them off, but they'll be out of contract and there most likely won't be any more solo films for the original team. There won't be a reboot - if anything, Riri Williams as Ironheart and possibly Sam Wilson as Captain America will be the next stage for the mantles of the Cap and Iron Man.

They'll probably do another couple of films from Black Panther and Captain Marvel while setting up the next story arc.

I'd quite like the Fantastic Four to get the MCU treatment - but they'll have to tread carefully for it not to feel like Guardians (since Guardians was in reality the FF stand-in team).

@Th3solution I can see numerous actors moving on and thus they or their characters won't be a part of what ever plan comes next. I can't see it being a complete reboot either - Spider-Man has a new movie in the works, Brie Larson/Capt Marvel must surely be continuing and Black Panther too. I don't know how they could keep these actors in and reboot the franchise, start a 'new' arc with say a new Capt America, Iron Man and Thor for example whilst still having the same Capt Marvel, Spider-Man and Black Panther. It would have to be a Phase 4 rather than a 'new' Phase 1.

@RogerRoger
I really enjoyed Fallout too.

While the series is never likely to return to the heights of the original film's take on the series itself - they are mostly (here's looking at you MI2) competent stories anchoring a series of excellent action sequences and some occasional suspense.

@RogerRoger I really liked GP, RN was alright - but I watched them in quick succession which didn't help RN stand out.

I still really like MI:III - but yeah, that first one is still top of the pile for me.

As for Fergusson, yeah - she could've been anyone in Fallout really. While I do quite enjoy the formula that the series has adopted, I would like them to become a little more like the series again.

@RogerRoger
Interesting.

I genuinely thought it was crap. Not as bad the 'first' - but really not much good either.

Thankfully, I hadn't seen the reports of the recycled bits of the unused Jurassic Park 4 script beforehand; that possibly would have made it worse

I watched The Legend of Tarzan a few nights ago. Weird experience I must say.
Rather nice production, decent enough casting and moves along at a steady pace. But even with all of this locked in, it just doesn't seem to get there.

Saw The Green Book recently. It was alright: the sort of schmaltzy film about the topic of racism that doesn't ask any hard questions and ends with the racist lead character becoming more accepting of black people after watching the man who hired him be consistently exposed to a carnival of horrors (as usual with this sort of film, the southerners are ignorant and disgusting, but as soon as they start getting up around the East Coast, people magically become much more tolerant). It's less about Don Shirley's own experience with the world and more about how the abuses inflicted on him contribute to make Tony the Lip a slightly more sympathetic human being. Because, in 2019, when making a film about racism, it's novel and brave to filter the subject, yet again, through the perspective of someone white. It's very soft, liberal filmmaking: the sort of film "tolerant" white people go to watch and then pat themselves on the back afterward about how much of a shame it was that some people 'are like that.'

There's an absurd scene where Tony informs Don Shirley that he is 'blacker than him' because Shirley speaks with proper diction and doesn't listen to black artists.

There's a scene where Tony, and I can't believe I'm even writing this, helps Don Shirley discover the joy of fried chicken via KFC. The scene is incomplete, though: presumably Tony should have ended his lesson on Proper Blackness by purchasing a watermelon for the good doctor to help wash down his fried chicken with.

Also, the ending is kind of abrupt. It just sort of ends suddenly.

OK movie, but not Best Picture material, imo.

I refused to see the movie (I thought Jurassic World was awful, and I've heard this is even worse), but my sister did, and she told me about this random horrifying bit in the movie. Now I'm even more glad I didn't see it: I can't stand animals suffering or enduring violence. Even the relatively tame dog scene in Alita really bothered me. It's the biggest reason I've never bothered watching the John Wick films (when the original first came out, I'd heard about the dog killing scene and told that same sister that I wasn't watching it as a result. She dismissed it with a wave of the hand, saying "how bad could it be?" Cue later, she's talking about how horrifying the dog scene was and how it depressed her for the rest of the film. Hahaha.)

I enjoyed the last mission impossible film. The main bad guy was a bit lame I thought, but apart from that it was a good watch. The recent films have kinda merged all into one in my head, apart from Tom Cruise do an amazing standout stunt, they all seem to be doing the same thing. Which is fine, because they do it so well.

@RogerRoger but... Phil Collins...
Disney Tarzan is OK.

If you're ever at a loose end, try and track down a copy of Greystoke!

@RogerRoger Being a fan of horror movies, 'dog scenes' are the bane of my existence. It's a common thing in lazy horror movies to officially signal "something is very wrong" with the killer or monster killing the family dog before it finally comes after the family proper. Because, y'know, the dog is just a stupid animal, so it's not really important, but people are attached to their animals and will get angry and scared if the dogs start getting killed.

Thankfully, those usually happens off-screen. I don't want or need to see a puppy slowly and graphically dying on screen so that Keanu Reeves has moral clearance to kill hundreds of people over the course of three films.

These scenes are actually worse in "dog movies." I won't go to see "dog movies," because they always invariably end with something horrible happening to the dog in question. I made two exceptions. Both cartoons. Isle of Dogs and The Plague Dogs. They're both good movies, but I won't be rewatching them.

I'll still play Monster Hunter, but I rationalize it by concluding that my character is a terrible sociopath who likes to wear the creatures she murders as a suit. Also, being a mammal, I have more of a moral investment in the lives of dogs than giant lizards. That sister I mentioned can't play these games, by the way, because the animals writhing on the ground after she killed them really disturbed her.

@Ralizah Some advice — avoid “Where the Red Fern Grows” and “Old Yeller” at all costs.

@RogerRoger erm.... Puzz3D perhaps? Are they still a thing?

@RogerRoger Good horror films don't need to lean on the crutch of animal violence to raise the stakes of what's happening (I'll give a pass to something like Pet Sematary where the animal death is well-integrated into the broader concept of the story). Actually, while I can still appreciate a good bit of horror violence, I've grown increasingly sensitive to such material as I've gotten older (quite a contrast from my teens, when I'd seek out the nastiest exploitation material available; by the way, since you have issues with animal violence, I feel obliged to mention that the film Cannibal Holocaust has actual and pretty grotesque animal violence in it, so you should probably avoid that film at all costs, if the name alone wasn't enough to steer you clear of it). Thankfully, tasteful directors can imply or suggest something awful without throwing it at your face, and without making you wallow in misery.

Another good call: I told my family I wasn't willing to see A Dog's Way Home (I think that was the name) because of reports of animal misery in the film. We looked further into it, and it turns out there's a scene where a puppy is chained to a corpse and almost dies of dehydration. So none of us saw it!

I finally watched Aquaman last night and I was disappointed. I don’t know how I could have let myself become disappointed since it received such lukewarm reviews, but I guess I was subconsciously hoping for more.
I know it’s been detailed on this thread before, but I couldn’t find some of the early comments on the film since it’s been a while. I’ll try to avoid too much repetition though by keeping it short (for me short is 5 paragraphs instead of 10 😛)
Mamoa is pretty good. Charming, dashing, and magnetic - it’s surprisingly how competent he is acting when all you may have seen of him is playing the rather simplistic role of the brute Drogo in GoT. He seems capable of carrying an entire film and series, but the script seems to have given him little to work with.
The other supporting actors are average to poor, imo. Even Kidman and Dafoe were pretty underwhelming.
The whole thing suffered from pacing issues, and over reliance on spectacle and action scenes. The early fights were fun to watch, but eventually it just became too much fighting and battle, and not enough advancing the story. Both main villains were also ‘meh’ although Black Manta has potential, it just seemed tacked on.
I don’t know much about Aquaman in the comic, but based on a very small amount of exposure to the old TV show it seems like they weren’t real true to the source material. I always thought Aquaman’s main superpower involved the ability to communicate with and call on the sea creatures for help, but this seemed an afterthought (although I know that skill ended up making the difference in communication to that big monster guarding the trident and helping defeat the armies, but still)
The production value was pretty good, but like I’d read, there were times when the effects looked pretty fake. I’ve become increasingly intolerant of movies that have fantastic CG and digital effects, then have costuming and props that are clearly plastic and cheap appearing. A lot of movies do this though.
Overall, the movie was average superhero fare. I felt similarly when I watched Black Panther. I will say, in this movie’s defense, that I was pretty tired after a long day and some of my lack of enthusiasm may have been affected by my mental state last night. I’ll give it another go in a few months.

Joysticks (Amazon Prime Video) - 80's comedy centering around a video game arcade. It's the typical youth culture versus the establishment yarn, as the city's teens band together to keep the arcade safe from the mechanations of a stuck up parent's plans to try and shutter the place for being a "den of moral decay".

You have all the cliches present such as the jock, the nerd, and of course the gaming addicted slob, and it didn't skimp on the very gratuitous female nudity, which is only matched in prevalence by Pac-Man iconography. While other notable titles get some screentime, Pac-Man is so prevalent that I'm almost willing to guess there may have been some sort of marketing/licensing deal in place (it even climaxed with a "the Wizard" Super Mario Bros. 3 style jumbotron showdown, with Super Pac-Man).

I wouldn't say it's a good movie, but as someone who enjoys the occasional 80's cheesefest, along with being interested in what it would be like as one of the earliest Hollywood attempts at tapping into gaming culture (it came out 5 or 6 years before the Wizard), I'd say I overall enjoyed my time with it.