Topic: The Movie Thread

@GirlVersusGame Very interesting, thank you sharing!

I know it was very much a passion project for him, which he had been trying to get made for years now.

@Ravix No, I think you're correct that romance in film is often not well executed, particularly by Hollywood fare. If I think of my favourite romances in TV or film, it's always the ones that deviate from the normal (in the case of You're the Worst or are non-American productions (in the case of Portrait of a Lady on Fire). As you said, romance is often just characterised into cliché, big moments rather than having a naturalistic development throughout the narrative. That's what I appreciate about the projects I mentioned, where the approach was either more naturalistic or out of bounds from how a perfect romance is usually portrayed. Neither of those ones are ones a person will strive for because of their complications, and that's exactly what makes them interesting to watch and see unfold. I get that seeing any film as a result with the core conceit of it being a romance is going to turn you off because of normal way of going about these themes. It turns me off all the same. If a project is really about a romance, it needs to have some kind of unique hook (or possibly talent I'm invested in) for me to even give it a shot.

That said, I can understand there's a place and time for your more comfy romance narratives though. And I do acknowledge how many people can appreciate them, even if we maybe don't get anything out of them if not actively get turned off. Not everyone is a big media nerd like ourselves, and a feel-good approach might be just what they're after! Unfortunately for us, that seems to be the majority and the most catered to group. Honestly can't even fault Hollywood for giving the majority what it wants in that case. My mother is subscribed to a streaming service that exclusively hosts romance film or TV... and not the ones I'd considered good, but more like the Hallmark-type fare.

What irreparable damage could we possibly make just by being weird?! We're the victims to our own psyche after all!

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@Vermines Enjoy! I had a great time with the sequel of Wicked. Report back your findings!

@Tjuz I thought Wicked Part II was pretty good. I enjoyed it well enough but I think I enjoyed the first movie better, despite the storyline of the second part being much more interesting with all the character reveals and twists. I think a lot of it boils down to the music being a lot better in the first movie. None of the songs in the second were particularly catchy, imho. Still, the performances in general maintained their high quality and the costuming and effects were really fantastic.

@Th3solution I agree fully about the songs. Nothing in the second movie comes close to matching the highs of songs like Defying Gravity, Popular or What Is This Feeling? in the first. I think only Wonderful stood out to me as a memorable song. Less so because the song itself is incredibly good, but more so because it was the one with the most interesting and fun staging of the bunch. I do feel like they missed an opportunity in adapting the musical's second act and its songs. In the first film, it felt like they were actively utilising the medium of film to be able to do more than is possible on stage with the choreography and staging of the musical numbers, while in the second it feels more like they directly lifted how the songs were performed on stage. Unfortunately, that means the actual scenes are fairly uninteresting when presented in cinematic form. Like how Elphaba essentailly just jumps from platform to platform without doing much in No Good Deed, which I feel really let down one of the few songs that people are particularly fond of in the second act.

@Vermines I'm glad you had a good time! Erivo and Grande with their incredibly chemistry on-screen is most definitely what keeps the entire movie together. It might have its faults, whether minor or major, but when it comes to those two, it becomes easy to forgive anything that might not work as well. Truly perfectly cast leads. I did also enjoy the Oz references, but I do think they should've done a better job at integrating them into the mainframe of Wicked's own story. If you take this narrative on its own, the Wizard of Oz references totally lose their impact and seem somewhat ham-fisted into the narrative. I feel like they could've done more to justify those parts being there, but as long as you're familiar with the original story, I don't think it affects your enjoyment really.

Like I said before, totally agree on everything you've said about romance in film though. I almost envy the people who can enjoy the Hallmark-type of romances for what they are. It must be more fun to enjoy that kind of incredibly naive, perfectly calibrated feel-good shlock!

So, I went to see Predator: Badlands for a second time at the cinema, and boy, that movie handles repeat viewings like a champ! Pure and unadulterated fun sci-fi adventure entertainment that put a smile on my face this go-round as well. The excellent soundtrack stood out more for me this time around, too.
(I will repeat my previous caveat, though: This is not your typical "Predator" movie and quite a few people out there vehemently dislikes it because it breaks with tradition, but if you can take it for what it is - I liken it to Spielberg's old Amblin movies in tone - you will probably have a good time)