@LN78 Actually I think I did see The Rocketeer a long time ago. But I don’t remember much about it, neither good nor bad. I might have to try a re-watch one day when it becomes available to do so.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@RogerRoger Glad to hear you're enjoying Coulson! I'm a massive fan of Agents of Shield, and Coulson to me is the heart and soul of the show.
I did a rewatch of the MCU just at the end of last year and there's three that stand out way above the rest for me - Captain America: Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Avengers: Infinity War. The first for being a well paced thriller with natural looking action scenes. The car chase with Fury in particular, and Guardians 2 and Infinity War have the most emotional impact for me.
Also "we will deep dry your kebab" cracks me up everytime, more so because of the framing of the shot. It almost has more focus than Wanda does.
@LN78 Well whadoyaknow, The Rocketeer is on Disney+. Just added it to my watchlist for when I have the time and mood. Thanks! 😃
@RogerRoger There is a trend toward many action and fantasy/Sci-Fi movies to get a little over-the-top with non-stop sequences of excessive dynamism, heavy CGI, explosions, car chases, shootouts, and each one grander that the last. Sometimes it gets a little fatiguing as a viewer and it’s easy to lose sight of an actual plot. Thankfully I think the MCU strikes a good balance there. The focus on character development and story doesn’t suffer, in my opinion, when the explosions start. But there are plenty of ‘Avengers moments’ to come.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@RogerRoger Oh and by the way, I forgot to answer your question ... 😅. (I’ve had a strange week, as usual. Forgive my air-headedness)
The quote in my footer actual was adopted by me independent of Killian’s use of it. I’d seen it online before, so certainly his character borrowed it from the pool of witticisms out there in the ether. But yes, it’s a good one. I’ve used it in the forum signature for a while so I might change it at some point, as soon as something else strikes me. I have a weakness for sharp clever sayings.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@LN78 I’ll definitely post my thoughts when I do. Yeah, the Netflix logic offered up the Indiana Jones movies as alternatives when I searched for it there, as other titles ‘similar to’ it that they did have in their library. So that’s a great sign since I really like those.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@LN78 I think I’d probably lean toward the optimistic side, for the reasons you state. It’s always a tricky situation when tackling an established franchise that’s been dormant for many years, but I feel like there was some lessons learned with Crystal Skull that Mangold is apt to take into consideration. And, although I wasn’t quite as enamored with Logan as the collective viewership (I actually liked The Wolverine a little better, but both were solid and apparently miles better than X-Men Origins: Wolverine which I avoided due to the backlash) it was at least daring and showed a willingness to deviate from customary formulae to achieve the impact. Also, ironically he has producer credits on two films I just happened to have watched in the last couple weeks — The Call of the Wild and The Greatest Showman, both of which I was able to find some enjoyment from, despite being different from my usual movie watching fare. Agree on Ford v Ferrari too — that was a really good character-study type of film. If nothing else, the guy has shown a solid ability to manage top tier actors. I haven’t seen 3:10 to Yuma or Knight and Day or Girl, Interrupted, but I liked Walk the Line fairly well, even if it was just a standard safe biographical style film. He has quite a breadth of work and having worked with the likes of Cruise, Phoenix, Jackman, Jolie, Bale, and Ford before, I think as long as he is given freedom to do things his own way then it should be an interesting take on Indiana Jones.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@RogerRoger I agree on Winter Soldier being in the MCU’s top 5 or so. It’s uniquely constructed as an espionage thriller so serves as a breath of fresh air in the series. And I like the evolution of Cap’s character into the moral compass for SHIELD. They balance Cap’s Boy-Scoutish ideology of the 1950’s with his renegade machismo quite well. It does have some of the best action sequences in the series too, imo.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@RogerRoger I’d probably say Thor 2 is the worst of the lot so I wouldn’t think too deeply about why you almost fell asleep! I’m not a huge fan of the Iron Man movies (especially 2 and 3) either so I did think the movies got better throughout Phase Two.
@RogerRoger I’d probably say Thor 2 is the worst of the lot so I wouldn’t think too deeply about why you almost fell asleep!
Definitely agree on that one. I did fall asleep when I watched Thor 2 for the first time. A few years later I rewatched it and almost fell asleep again! It is not a good movie. Not offensively bad, just dull and lifeless.
@RogerRoger By the way... are you keeping track of all the infinity stones so far? It’s one thing that watching the movies in close succession is a bit easier to do, as opposed to watching each separately as it’s own stand-alone movie. For me it was almost like I needed a spreadsheet to keep up with them all and there are plenty of places on the internet that do that for you but I’d discourage you from googling it because you’re sure to end up with spoilers at this point, and there’s sufficient explanation later on for those who’ve watched the movies more casually and for viewers who missed one or more of the 23 movies. 😄
But the movies reward people like me who are super-fans who geek out on the small details.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@RogerRoger Honestly, I’m not a big fan of Star-Lord either. Some jokes land but I agree about the whole ‘dudebro’ schtick, it’s similar to my feelings about Tony Stark. I think Winter Soldier and Ant-Man are my two favourites there, they both deliver the most solid experience as a whole movie. I really don’t think much of Age of Ultron at all, even when I went to the cinema. The Quicksilver thing was silly and for an ‘age’, Ultron managed to run its course in about two days. At least we got Vision, I always liked him in the comics. Again though, not a fan of how they handle Scarlet Witch in the MCU since they didn’t have the access to mutants when AoU came out. Her powers are seemingly... red special effects. Looking back on it, I used to go to the cinema and think the newest movie was great but they were usually replaced by the next one, and then the next one. I don’t seem to have many lasting favourites.
@RogerRoger
It's fair enough, I just love films that make me laugh and as you say there are quite a few funny scenes in there. Can't say I have much love for Star Lord as an individual, I don't mind him in the first film. Not sure if there are quite as many jokes in the sequel but it definitely has its moments.
Firm favourite of the Marvel films has to be Thor Ragnarok, lots of great comedy in there, with plenty of other fun moments as well.
@RogerRoger Glad to hear your overall experience with the MCU is favorable still and I agree with most of your takes. As you say, to create so many entries without a bunch of plot holes, inconsistencies, and errors is quite an achievement. But yes, they do exist. As with most science fiction and fantasy there’s the element of ‘suspension of disbelief’ that comes into play a few times here. Question things just enough to be able to appreciate the clever interwoven narrative, but not enough to look too deep to see the cracks. As more entries pile up in your viewing, more possibilities for narrative error might pile up. But I agree with you - as a whole it’s remarkably consistent.
And as a quick aside, I think it’s possible that the Star-Lord character suffers from a little bit of America-centric culture contamination as far as relatability and humor. The dudebro / frat boy/ bumbling bravado is a motif that we seem to have an strange obsession with. I’m guilty of finding great humor and relatability in Star-Lord, but there’s a chance a lot of that is because I know a few Star-Lords in my life. GotG2 and the other future entries do give his character more depth over time and I mostly found myself rooting for him, but your mileage may vary on his goofy personality, even though its evolution adds a few layers eventually.
I can totally see how the music may be a source of distraction if you’re not particularly a fan. Although the future entries use less well known tracks, there is a clear infatuation that the filmmakers have with 60’s and 70’s tunes and it’s a bit of a running theme. I’ve been a fan of that particular era of music so I actually found it enhanced my enjoyment but I know all to well about heavy use of a style of music making or breaking a show. For me, it’s gratuitous use of hip-hop that often sullies a movie experience, so I get it.
Edit: on the subject and as another general movie watching aside — I have found that a lot of movie music comes across much better in a theater setting than it does on the small screen. This is a phenomenon that I notice on rewatching a variety of films. Not sure if anyone else experiences that but the booming of the big theater sound system carries added impact, usually in a positive way, as opposed to watching at home.
@Th3solution I have similar feelings with Hans Zimmer’s soundtracks. There’s only so much BWAAAAA BWAAAAA I can take. The sound mixing’s always awful as well, especially in Nolan movies so the music is crazy loud and you can barely hear what anybody’s saying.
Never had a problem with Star Lord myself. Found it quite refreshing from most of the other characters in the MCU and a different take on a character arc. Absolutely loved the music in Guardians too, so much that I bought the soundtrack, which I rarely do. Thought it suited the film perfectly, it is supposed to be the music on his mixtape after all which also has a sentimental value to him to. It is something that has been copied by future MCU films and not get criticised, so I feel strange for this film to get special attention. 🤷♂️
@LN78 Oh yeah, the intent of using the music as a narrative device to connect Quill to his mother is a pretty clever part of the story. Perhaps the same narrative purpose could have been accomplished if his mother’s tape had her favorite bluegrass country western tunes or classical orchestral compositions, but I think the popular music of the day is the easiest path to portray the intended connection to the past, as @JohnnyShoulder points out. And I think @RogerRoger is on board with that (not speaking for him but reading into his last post and correction of his original phraseology) but they do go to the 60’s & 70’s well pretty regularly so I see how that could grate on the experience for a person. But yes, the ‘why it was used’ question is a more objective one.
It is interesting that Guardians 2 seemed to use lesser known tracks though, at least lesser known to me. But I was happy to discover “Brandy” though - which has become a favorite song of mine now but was not on my radar before (despite it apparently being revered as an all-time great song ...)
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