Dark Phoenix: Contractual Obligations/10

So last night, I went and had a double feature night, at the theatre... went and saw both Godzilla: King of the Monsters and X-Men: Dark Phoenix.

Godzilla: Let's just say Hellboy is no longer my least favourite movie of 2019. Admittedly, I'm not the biggest Godzilla fan, in fact, I've only seen three Godzilla movies (all three American movies, no Japanese films), but outside of the one from the '90s (which was great), I haven't enjoyed the others. It especially sucks, as I liked Kong: Skull Island, and was looking forward to the crossover movie for that alone, but now I don't know.

Dark Phoenix: As big as I am into comic books and superheroes, the X-Men movies have always been hit or miss, for every good (with a few great ones sprinkled in) movies in the franchise, there seems to be one that isn't that good. As for this movie, given the story arc, they based the film off of, I definitely enjoyed Dark Phoenix more than X3: The Last Stand, but overall I'd say it's only in the middle of the pack as far as X-films go.

Out of these two, the only one I'd watch again (if it were on TV), is X-Men: Dark Phoenix, though I wouldn't recommend Godzilla at all.

2019 Movie Rankings

SPOILER: Click to show

8. Godzilla: King of Monsters
7. Hellboy
6. Captain Marvel
5. X-Men: Dark Phoenix
4. Shazam!
3. Detective Pikachu
2. Alita: Battle Angel
1. Avengers: Endgame

Rocketman

Enjoyable enough film! Soundtrack obviously a real highlight and Elton has had an interesting enough life to keep the attention. Easy to compare it to the superior Bohemian Rhapsody but it more than holds up in its own right.

Jun 16, 2019 21:51:17 GMT Brezzy said:

Rocketman

Enjoyable enough film! Soundtrack obviously a real highlight and Elton has had an interesting enough life to keep the attention. Easy to compare it to the superior Bohemian Rhapsody but it more than holds up in its own right.

I actually thought it was a much better all around film than Bohemian Rhapsody which (as I've posted about before) I feel was really carried by Rami Malek's performance. Doing it as a musical worked really well, and the flashbacks made the plot a lot more interesting compared to BR which was a bit like reading through a Wikipedia article. Taron Edgerton actually singing everything himself was a big plus too. 

Jun 16, 2019 23:27:27 GMT @admin said:

Jun 16, 2019 21:51:17 GMT Brezzy said:

Rocketman

Enjoyable enough film! Soundtrack obviously a real highlight and Elton has had an interesting enough life to keep the attention. Easy to compare it to the superior Bohemian Rhapsody but it more than holds up in its own right.

I actually thought it was a much better all around film than Bohemian Rhapsody which (as I've posted about before) I feel was really carried by Rami Malek's performance. Doing it as a musical worked really well, and the flashbacks made the plot a lot more interesting compared to BR which was a bit like reading through a Wikipedia article. Taron Edgerton actually singing everything himself was a big plus too. 

Fair comments, I think my love for Queen definitely makes my impartiality poor to be honest.

I really liked the way they used the music in Rocketman, ageing Elton using songs as a bridge between scenes worked really really well.

Toy Story 4 was unsurprisingly wonderful.

Child’s Play: Really enjoyed it, though could have been it’s own original IP

Jun 24, 2019 1:50:11 GMT mikec said:

Toy Story 4 was unsurprisingly wonderful.

Yes x1000. I knew it would be good because it's Pixar and they treat their Toy Story franchise with kid gloves and wouldn't allow something bad to come out but I was blown away yet again by what they were able to do. The humor , the heart , the ending - just a wonderful movie from beginning to end. I love some of the new and returning characters as well. 

Off the top of my head I'd say I enjoy it more than 2 but it will always be impossible to pass 1&3 for me. It'd probably be in my top five along with all the other Toy Story's and Inside Out. 

Also a few new characters might crack my top Pixar characters too. I adore Bonnie and she reminds me of my daughter a ton - not visually but with the way she plays with everything. Just like I how I could see myself in Andy - I can see my kids in Bonnie and THAT is what Toy Story is wonderful and spans generations. They can speak to everyone on a different level and be enjoyed by all. 

Jun 24, 2019 6:01:26 GMT System said:

Child’s Play: Really enjoyed it, though could have been it’s own original IP

I was super excited about this , then I read a bunch of reviews out of curiosity of the direction they went and was let down because from what I read - they went with the more comedy route again. Don't know how much of that is true but I continue to wish they'd let Chucky get back more to his horror roots and stop with the comedy. It's what has plagued so much of this franchise as it went along. 

Saw Toy Story. I know the ending to 3 was perfect and it was unnecessary, but they managed to make this work. As far as Pixar goes I'd give it a solid B+. Not nearly as good as some of their best work, but nowhere near average either. Was skeptical of them turning a jobber/background character in Bo Peep as a central character, but I didn't hate it. Might help that I've really enjoyed her work as MeeMaw, so when I heard her voice I instantly liked her. I was really disappointed by Incredibles 2 and this was SO not that.

Jun 24, 2019 19:38:37 GMT UT said:

Jun 24, 2019 1:50:11 GMT mikec said:

Toy Story 4 was unsurprisingly wonderful.

Yes x1000. I knew it would be good because it's Pixar and they treat their Toy Story franchise with kid gloves and wouldn't allow something bad to come out but I was blown away yet again by what they were able to do. The humor , the heart , the ending - just a wonderful movie from beginning to end. I love some of the new and returning characters as well. 

Off the top of my head I'd say I enjoy it more than 2 but it will always be impossible to pass 1&3 for me. It'd probably be in my top five along with all the other Toy Story's and Inside Out. 

Also a few new characters might crack my top Pixar characters too. I adore Bonnie and she reminds me of my daughter a ton - not visually but with the way she plays with everything. Just like I how I could see myself in Andy - I can see my kids in Bonnie and THAT is what Toy Story is wonderful and spans generations. They can speak to everyone on a different level and be enjoyed by all. 

3/4/1/2 for me. I like the first two movies, they’re good and really fun. But I feel like the latter two have more emotional heft to them and So for me I like them better.

Toy Story 4

sandylea suggested we go to a 18+ showing they had, did I take her advice? No.

Instead we saw in a cinema with two kids screaming through the entire film and construction noise (Cinema getting renovated).

It was ok at best, can see why kids were so bored as it’s not really targeted towards them.

Finally saw Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse.

Fucking incredible, and possibly the best post-credits scene in a Marvel movie ever.

Jun 27, 2019 2:03:34 GMT 🤯 said:

Finally saw Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse.

Fucking incredible, and possibly the best post-credits scene in a Marvel movie ever.

Jun 27, 2019 2:03:34 GMT 🤯 said:

Finally saw Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse.

Fucking incredible, and possibly the best post-credits scene in a Marvel movie ever.

Right? One of the few movies that doesn't just live up to expectations, it actually exceeds them.

Currently sits as my #1 for film of 2018.

Why are there a billion incarnations of Spiderman?

Because it took them a billion tries before they found Nic Cage.

Aka the best one.

Damn spiders always getting radioactive and shit.

Jun 27, 2019 18:01:20 GMT Big Pete said:

Because it took them a billion tries before they found Nic Cage.

Aka the best one.

Him with the rubik's cube... I lost my shit.

Spider-Man: Far from Home

MJ comes across as unlikeable in 90% of the film, otherwise I really enjoyed it. They rushed things a bit at the start with Mysterio but Jake Gyllenhaal was unsurprisingly good in the role.

Very confused as to why this came out on a Monday.

Jul 1, 2019 4:58:30 GMT System said:

Spider-Man: Far from Home

MJ comes across as unlikeable in 90% of the film, otherwise I really enjoyed it. They rushed things a bit at the start with Mysterio but Jake Gyllenhaal was unsurprisingly good in the role.

Very confused as to why this came out on a Monday.

Aussie school holidays?

Jul 1, 2019 7:45:48 GMT nath45.47 said:

Jul 1, 2019 4:58:30 GMT System said:

Spider-Man: Far from Home

MJ comes across as unlikeable in 90% of the film, otherwise I really enjoyed it. They rushed things a bit at the start with Mysterio but Jake Gyllenhaal was unsurprisingly good in the role.

Very confused as to why this came out on a Monday.

Aussie school holidays?

Hasn’t started in NSW, but that makes sense for other states.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
The plot didn't really make a lot of sense, but it didn't need to. The film was thoroughly entertaining and perfectly blended comedy, action and mystery. Black comedies are hit and miss for me, but this one knocked it out of the park.

Whenever I watch a Robert Downey Jr. movie I get the impression he just plays the same character all the time. Granted, until this point I have only seen him play two characters (Tony Stark and Sherlock Holmes), but they are both wisecracking smartasses. In this film he's also a wisecracking smartass, who also happens to be an idiot. Perhaps it's more impressive to convincingly portray a paradoxical character than to go too much outside your comfort zone. But I'm not really being fair on RDJ. The only other film of his I've seen is Less Than Zero, and I'm pretty sure he was rather different in that, but I remember so little of the film that I can't speak with much conviction. Perhaps the conclusion of this mostly useless paragraph is that I need to watch more Downey Junior. Recommendations?

Anyway, Val Kilmer is awesome, RDJ is almost as awesome, and this movie is awesome. Would have ranked in my Top 3 non-Avengers movies featuring Avengers list.

Jul 2, 2019 19:02:09 GMT Emperor said:

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
The plot didn't really make a lot of sense, but it didn't need to. The film was thoroughly entertaining and perfectly blended comedy, action and mystery. Black comedies are hit and miss for me, but this one knocked it out of the park.

Whenever I watch a Robert Downey Jr. movie I get the impression he just plays the same character all the time. Granted, until this point I have only seen him play two characters (Tony Stark and Sherlock Holmes), but they are both wisecracking smartasses. In this film he's also a wisecracking smartass, who also happens to be an idiot. Perhaps it's more impressive to convincingly portray a paradoxical character than to go too much outside your comfort zone. But I'm not really being fair on RDJ. The only other film of his I've seen is Less Than Zero, and I'm pretty sure he was rather different in that, but I remember so little of the film that I can't speak with much conviction. Perhaps the conclusion of this mostly useless paragraph is that I need to watch more Downey Junior. Recommendations?

Anyway, Val Kilmer is awesome, RDJ is almost as awesome, and this movie is awesome. Would have ranked in my Top 3 non-Avengers movies featuring Avengers list.

Better late than never! KKBB is up there, ahead of even Matchstick Men, for movies I love deeply and thus love to pimp.

I like Matchstick Men a lot more. That is a top notch movie. KKBB is...umm...second notch, I guess.

For other RDJ recs is check out Zodiac - though he’s an ass I. That too.

Tropic Thunder might be his best singular performance ever.

Oh, I've seen Zodiac. That was a drag. Don't even remember him being in it :lol:

Jul 2, 2019 19:54:18 GMT Emperor said:

Oh, I've seen Zodiac. That was a drag. Don't even remember him being in it :lol:

Thank God, someone else!

I didn't get Zodiac at all, especially not the love it seems to universally get.

Also, I'm totally OK with you liking Matchstick Men over KKBB. Both great, both favourites.

Caught Spider-Man: Far From Home-Another solid entry into the Spider-Man line, not as flat out brilliant as something like Into the Spider-Verse, but that's a pretty unfair bar, really, not sure if even a sequel can reach that. Mostly enjoyable start to finish, with a relentless final act that kept me entirely engaged. Jake G. knocks it out of the park as Mysterio, and they give about the best version of the character that could be expected, some really great visuals follow. I enjoyed Homecoming more, but not by too much, I'd give it a solid A-. (Minus only for some initial drag leading out of the first act).

SPOILER: Click to show

Brilliant move casting JK Simmons as Jameson yet again, most instances wouldn't see an actor from a completely different franchise returning in the same role, but JK is too perfect to even try anybody else. It would only have led to disappointment. Outing Spider-Man was also a hell of a thing, have to see how that shakes out. And it's curious to see the future plan for the Skrulls, maybe a Secret Invasion, where they come into conflict with a rogue squad of Skrulls.

Just came back from Spider-Man Far From Home. I still have a severe disconnect with all of these character portrayals and I have been ready since 2004 for Spider-Man to have the training wheels taken off. They really should have had this franchise loosely connected with the Avengers, like how Daredevil has it with newspaper headlines in the background. The constant Iron Man reminders were annoying as hell along with MILF Aunt May. Hopefully that outstanding mid-credits scene goes along way for a course correction in the franchise.

This Marvel Studio incarnation does produce strong villains however and they hit it out of the park again with Mysterio. I loved all the illusion tech and how Mysterio used it to disorient Spider-Man and the audience. I have to go middle of the road though in the end, too much detachment still from what Spider-Man is really about (to me anyway) but the actual super-hero stuff was strong 2.5/5.