Topic: The Movie Thread

@ralphdibny I didn't expect much from Justice League to be honest. The circumstances of the production and Whedon being drafted really didn't fill me with confidence.

I enjoyed BvS a lot more.

@LN78 Yeah. Lots of that.
Most obvious are Afleck's hairpiece and drop off in physical conditioning with his post-steroid cycle bloat.

I think Snyder probably has a 'work-print'. Doubtful that there's anything close to a complete film, but I'd still like to see it.

@LN78 @KALofKRYPTON haha yeah batfleck talking to Diana in that one scene where he is just wearing the the top of his muscle suit is so dumb. I think it's just funny and when I watched it again recently, the stuff I used to find really stupid about it, I just find really funny now. I used to hate batflecks knowing smirk but now it just makes me laugh. Not sure if Whedon or Snyder directed the WW sequence at the beginning but I preferred that 5 minutes to the whole of the Wonder Woman movie. Not sure if it's the male gaze that suits my interpretation of the character better but for some reason I just found the WW movie really boring with a couple of laughs.

I think Man of Steel was probably the best of the DCEU. I just thought it was a good standalone movie with only one dumb tornado scene to ruin it. I know the ending is very out of character for Superman but I do feel like he literally had no choice and it was interesting that he opted for the no option over some wacky option. Too bad they didn't really pick up on that thread in later movies.

Likewise id like to see the Snyder cut but I still think it's unlikely, they'd have to payroll basically another movie for Snyder to film the scenes that he didn't get round too and get them edited and scored. Otherwise it will just end up like the fascinating but in my opinion not very good as a movie Donner Cut of Superman 2

@ralphdibny
One thing that really grinds my gears in Justice League is the costuming. None of it is good barring WW.

They properly ruined the Bat cowl from BvS. That suit was sodding perfect, but they just couldn't leave it alone.
The Superman costume has steadily gotten worse since MoS too. I don't mind the colour adjustment to the previously grey pieces and improved cape from BvS - but the metal highlighting for the muscle suit looks awful. And the Kryptonian river nonsense was just... well, nonsense.

Less said about The Flash the better.

I love Man of Steel. It's a good movie, and a good beginning that we never got to see the rest of.

@KALofKRYPTON I never knew about the Kryptonian river thing, is it to do with the hope symbol?

Flash just looks like a power ranger. Whilst I didn't like the way they were hyping him as the Spiderman of the justice League, he did get some of the nice moments in the film like the "just save one and you'll know what to do scene".

Just wish we could get an adult blonde flash one day, they always seem to want to position him as the kid of the JL. It's why I think Young Justice was so good, because it focused on a new team in a world with an existing lore that you could pay as much attention to as you wanted or not.

I sometimes think the right approach for a DC movie would be to just throw the viewer in at the deep end with a fascinating story at its core to hook viewers. Let the audience become aware of the existing lore through rewatches and future films.

@ralphdibny It's nonsense made up for the film - made up by Whedon possibly too since the scene at the start is clearly a new shot where they're hiding Cavill's 'tache.

I liked the idea that Snyder started for the Kryptonian garments in MoS. I like how that is used to explain the costume. I don't particularly like just new iterations of the costume appearing with no explanation.

I agree with you on The Flash. Barry was an important, serious character - not the comic relief youth.

Yeah, as with JL: War - just get on with the story. Everyone watching is well aware of who the major players are at this point.

@KALofKRYPTON oh yeah of course the opening scene, I forgot that bit of dialogue entirely, probably because I was focussing on the constantly morphing lips of Henry cavill. It's almost on par with the sand conversation in attack of the clones lol

@RogerRoger Honestly I really enjoyed Shazam when I watched it last month. It’s stupid but a lot of the jokes land and it’s just a great family movie. Aquaman I wasn’t a fan of but that was to do with the middling pace and hokey-but-not-in-a-fun-way supporting cast.

@RogerRoger Shazam is a fun, good-natured family film, but Aquaman feels like it has no identity whatsoever. To be more precise, it feels like DC looked at the MCU and Star Wars and said: "...something like that."

I enjoyed Batman V Superman for what it was, personally. The gritty Frank Miller-esque Batman was fun, and I liked the absurd, almost apocalyptic tone it had.

Of course, nothing measures up to Batman Begins/The Dark Knight, but I've come to accept that I'll never enjoy other superhero films like I enjoyed those.

@RogerRoger I mean, I guess, but "stunning spectacles" are a dime a dozen in Disney's cinematic dystopia. The film is lacking in any sense of visual identity, which is what's really damning, imo. A film can survive bland plot elements/character development with sufficient style, but this ain't it.

@RogerRoger Shazam is good but aquaman is really hammy. It's like almost really good but bits of it are like a straight to TV Christmas movie. It's just the style of the film, I don't fault it for it but it does stick out. Still worth a watch though!

Finally got round to watching Blade Runner for the very first time by watching the Final Cut version. Overall I loved it. Older sci-fi films have always fascinated me with how imaginative their visions of the future are, plus it's also got a nice noir feel to it as well. Harrison Ford was great as the lead role.

Tonight I watched both Lost in Translation and Night is Short, Walk on Girl. Lost in Translation is one of those movies that’s extremely polarising but I think I liked it. I say think because I did find the portrayal of Japanese people as a bit demeaning but I liked the overall plot. The use of music is great too and totally fits with my own tastes. Having ‘Just Like Honey’ by Jesus and Mary Chain closing out the movie is one of the best closers in any movie I’ve ever watched. However, it’s a bit hard to like the two main characters and so I’d probably say it was a 4 star movie.

Night is Short, Walk on Girl is a movie I’ve been meaning to watch for a long time now, as a huge Masaaki Yuasa fan. It’s a sorta spin off of The Tatami Galaxy, possibly the greatest anime of all time, and so contains a few of the same characters. Being just as bombastic, clever and insane as the rest of his work, it’s an absolute triumph and I’d recommend it to anybody who loves anime, romance or overall madness. This one’s probably a 4.5 star movie.

This morning I watched Evangelion 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance (Blu-Ray).

The second film in the Evangelion remake line, it's animated just as beautifully as the first (in addition to the stunning action sequences, I really enjoy the scenery shots, especially those that center on Tokyo III "waking up" or readying for combat). While it still mostly retells the events of the TV series at this point, major deviations are starting to show themselves such as a completely new Eva pilot, the changing of a pilot during a major accident, and that out of this world finale! After this point it'll be all new to me as I haven't yet seen 3.33, and am interested in seeing how this plays out.

lol

Oh boy.

Be sure to let us know what you think of that film.

Evangelion 2.22 is one of my favorite anime films, even if I feel like it completely betrays the tone and 'point' of the original series. It's a spectacular action movie, for sure.

Nothing will ever top The End of Evangelion, though.

So Rise of Skywalker...

It's not great. But I've seen much worse.

The story macguffins are numerous, the continuity is often askew and narrative leaps plentiful. Looks nice, sounds great and the fight choreography, while pretty pedestrian is at least watchable without too much eye rolling.

The first third of the film is a train wreck. As are the finer points of the scripting. The story itself could've worked rather well over two films and with a little more narrative sense.
Bit of a shame on the whole, as it would've made a good basis for episodes 8 and 9.

So after watching Blade Runner the other day, I've now watched the sequel, Blade Runner 2049. Overall, it was enjoyable enough, but I didn't enjoy it anywhere near as much as the first one.

My main issue was the world felt fairly bleak in Blade Runner 2049. The original had a more optimistic view of the future. It was a fun sci-fi adventure, with flying cars and other cool sci-fi things. On the other hand, 2049 focused more on poverty and the environmental impact of the world, and had a much more run-down feel to it.

The overall story was good in 2049, but I felt that the quality of the writing was better in the original. The original's story felt more concise and more impactful. The characters were alright in 2049, but none really grabbed my attention like the wonderful characters in the original did.

So overall, I enjoyed Blade Runner 2049. It was worth watching. It's a decent sequel, but personally I much prefer the first movie.

(Also, I kept almost instinctively calling it Blade Runner 2077 by mistake)

@LN78 @crimsontadpoles I always enjoyed Bladerunner when in was younger, but the more I see it the less I have enjoyed it. I think all the different cuts annoys me and I now can't remember which version i saw when I was a younger. Couldn't get into the sequel and it failed to hold my interest.

@RogerRoger I don't think an extended cut would be particularly helpful.
Perhaps it might help fill in a few plot holes (and pot holes) of the narrative though. That first third or so only the word 'editing' scrolling through my subconscious! 😂

@LN78 oh yeah. Comedic gold. That's probably my favourite plot hole, The set of the fleet in general, but also - why have a ground assault on the tower that they can clearly see and get to from the air, and also, why didn't the Final Order (😂😂) just switch back to the tower that the Resistance just left alone because it was turned off? 😂😂

@LN78 Yeah, guess I wasn't paying enough attention to the first one, and was more distracted with the cool sci-fi things.