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Post by vendrell on Nov 13, 2017 1:44:36 GMT
Interstellar was garbage. I wanted to love it but I found it quite lame.
As for Passengers...I think this was a case of a good premise that suffered greatly from it having to be so commercial. I would have made some changes and the biggest one was that I would have kept Chris Pratt waking up J-Law as a secret to the audience. I think that way we could kind of feel the impact it would have on her character more if we were kept in the dark on that. Instead we knew what was coming the whole way through and it never took any chances. It was fine for what it was but if they would have went a shade darker in tone, I think this could have really been special but it was just to damn hollywood.
Shin I'd give Arrival another shot. I liked how it wasn't some huge fucking Independence Day bullshit bomb fest. It worked so well as a drama and it really did feel like I guess a "realistic" take on an alien encounter. Again the score to the film is fucking amazing, performances great, and it did have a great deal of suspense I felt. I loved everything about it. Cried...of course.
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Post by thereallt on Nov 13, 2017 2:08:16 GMT
Thor: Ragnarok
Easily the best of the Thor movies and loads of fun.
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Post by vendrell on Nov 16, 2017 0:52:02 GMT
Wakefield: This movie relies almost entirely on Brian Cranston's performance and he does great with it. It's dark some of that time but has some oddly comedic moments as well. My complaint comes with the ending and I knew that the ending they were going to give halfway into it. I could just see it coming and then it happened and it just brought the whole movie down. I guess it's one of those things where the film maker thought that conclusion could end in a semi cliffhanger because any resolution you got would have been deflating but I don't care. I wanted to see what came next and you just get robbed of that. It's a solid movie still but I take some points off for that ending. I'll start grading these movies. I give Wakefield a C+ .
Annabelle: Creation The first Annabelle was complete garbage but lately these horror movies with terrible first films actually come back and make a decent sequel. Ouija: Origins of Evil for example was actually a really solid and creepy horror film. Annabelle Creation follows along the same lines. This movie has creepy moments and is very well told and I thought all the performances were really solid. Yes there is the reliance on some jump scares but the movie doesn't beat you over the head with them to the point your numb to it 20 minutes into the movie. I give Annabelle Creation a C+. Nothing ground breaking but it was creepy and entertaining.
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Post by mikec on Nov 16, 2017 2:06:28 GMT
I watched Planes Trains and Automobiles again the other day. Halfway through I was a little surprised to hear my wife had never heard of the movie and she watched the second half. It’s obviously aged quite a bit (Diners Club card lol), but so much of it makes me laugh it still stands up, plus “Those aren’t pillows!”
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2017 12:48:38 GMT
A friend of mine hooked me up with their HBO GO account, been watching a few movies on there the past couple of days. I watched Cop Land(1997), I've seen this before but holy shit I never realized how great it was. This is seriously a 5 star movie, excellent performance by Stallone playing a character that he doesn't usually play. Also Deniro, Ray Liotta, Harvey Keitel, even Edie Falco from the Sopranos has a minor role(Phil Leotardo makes an appearance!), excellent story, excellent movie all the way around.
Also watched Captain Ron(1992) family comedy adventure starring Martin Short and Kurt Russell. There's a definite nostalgia factor for me with this movie, it's one of those that we rented on VHS tape back in the day and moved off to another town without returning it, watching it almost daily for a period of time when we didn't have cable or an antenna. I was surprised at how well this held up really, some stunning ocean shots that look superb on a 4K Curve. Really surprised by how great this movie looked. Also there are a few great Marley songs in it so it really hit the spot. It's a cute family movie with a few funny moments, Kurt Russell is solid gold as Captain Ron, cute little movie that has aged surprisingly well.
Also watched Tyson(1995) starring Michael Jai White as Iron Mike. This was the first time I've seen this since it aired on Fox back in the day. This was actually an HBO original movie. I've always loved Michael Jai White, he nailed this role as Tyson pulling it off better than I can imagine anybody else doing it. This was a really good time, telling the story of Tyson's rise up until he went to prison.
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Post by 🤯 on Nov 16, 2017 15:42:10 GMT
So Wife and I have been binge-progressing through the Marvel movies...
She didn't really like Captain America: First Avenger, and it ranks at the bottom for her. She particularly hated how dumb Red Skull looked, I think. Meanwhile, I was surprised by how much I dug the movie. I mean, I was already leaning toward being a Captain fantastic going in... But this kinda sealed the deal for me.
Then it was Iron Man 1 & 2. We're skipping Hulk because Edward Norton terrifies Wife. If there's a good reason we should watch Hulk (and it would have to be a REALLY GOOD reason), let me know and I'll try to present the case to Wife. Anyway...
Iron Man 1 was solid and enjoyed by the both of us. However, ever since Wife pointed it out in Avengers, I can't stop focusing on RDJ's stupid bellbottom pants that are meant to hide his absurd lift clogs. So it's like a double relief for me whenever he's in the Iron Man suit.
I think Iron Man 2 hung in there pretty close with Iron Man 1. Wife and I both preferred Terrance Howard over Don Cheadle as Rhodes. Wife was rubbed a bit wrong by Howard Stark not being the same actor as the one in Captain America, but seemed like a small gripe... Plus we more or less missed his whole scene because we were discussing whether or not that role's casting really mattered and also refilling our wine glasses (P.S. white wine and marvel movies go together like... white wine and Marvel movies). Wife fell in love with Mickey Rourke's Russian character when he demanded his bird. I think the feminist in Wife dug the notion of Pepper finally inheriting the CEO throne she kinda so rightly deserved. She hated Hammer as a villain, but I think for the right reasons; i.e., he's a cowardly bully creeper. From a piecing-the-puzzle-together standpoint, we liked getting introduced to Agent Romanov and the expanded roles for Fury and Kolson.
Overall, Wife loves Iron Man/Tony Stark because he's a cocky dick but he truly does care and does the right things when it's do-or-die time. Plus, she likes his sense of humor and intelligence. Meanwhile, I find myself more in the Rhodes/Captain America camp... Digging their respect for duty, rules, etc. Really looking forward to how we both react when we get to Civil War. Also, in hindsight, I'm a little sad that Rhodes didn't have any role whatsoever in the Avengers movie. At this point, he seems at least as qualified as fuckface Hawkeye.
Since we're in all likelihood never gonna watch Hulk (thanks also in part to being traumatized by the terribleness of the 2003 version), and since we've already seen Thor and the Avengers, it looks like Iron Man 3 is up next... Probably tomorrow. I wonder if Wife will end up Iron Man'd out after three in a row? At least we'll be back to Captain America after that with Winter Soldier.
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Post by UT on Nov 16, 2017 18:19:55 GMT
Just watched Split for the first time and oh holy shit what an incredible psychological thriller and by Shamalayan of all people. I was as apprehensive as expected to be giving him another chance , but I'm glad I did because this movie knocked it out of the park. James McAvoy was incredible and carries much of the movie , his performance is engaging , charismatic , emotional and charming all wrapped into one. If these types of movies got any respect at awards shows , he should of gotten the Oscar. The lead girl is also tremendous as well despite not a lot of dialogue. I don't know what else to say , but this catapults to one of my favorite movies I've seen in a long time and had it been made in 2017 would be in contention for my favorite movie of the year. I'd be curious to see what Emperor thinks of it , as he is a fan of the genre. Also it's on HBOGO shinobimusashi if you have time to check it out. Actually upon further investigating - it was released in January of 2017 so it will be on my year end list.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2017 19:53:09 GMT
Just watched Split for the first time and oh holy shit what an incredible psychological thriller and by Shamalayan of all people. I was as apprehensive as expected to be giving him another chance , but I'm glad I did because this movie knocked it out of the park. James McAvoy was incredible and carries much of the movie , his performance is engaging , charismatic , emotional and charming all wrapped into one. If these types of movies got any respect at awards shows , he should of gotten the Oscar. The lead girl is also tremendous as well despite not a lot of dialogue. I don't know what else to say , but this catapults to one of my favorite movies I've seen in a long time and had it been made in 2017 would be in contention for my favorite movie of the year. I'd be curious to see what Emperor thinks of it , as he is a fan of the genre. Also it's on HBOGO shinobimusashi if you have time to check it out. Actually upon further investigating - it was released in January of 2017 so it will be on my year end list. I seen it on there, my little brother loved it and keeps telling me to watch it. I'll give it a shot.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2017 20:54:42 GMT
So Wife and I have been binge-progressing through the Marvel movies... She didn't really like Captain America: First Avenger, and it ranks at the bottom for her. She particularly hated how dumb Red Skull looked, I think. Meanwhile, I was surprised by how much I dug the movie. I mean, I was already leaning toward being a Captain fantastic going in... But this kinda sealed the deal for me. Then it was Iron Man 1 & 2. We're skipping Hulk because Edward Norton terrifies Wife. If there's a good reason we should watch Hulk (and it would have to be a REALLY GOOD reason), let me know and I'll try to present the case to Wife. Anyway... Iron Man 1 was solid and enjoyed by the both of us. However, ever since Wife pointed it out in Avengers, I can't stop focusing on RDJ's stupid bellbottom pants that are meant to hide his absurd lift clogs. So it's like a double relief for me whenever he's in the Iron Man suit. I think Iron Man 2 hung in there pretty close with Iron Man 1. Wife and I both preferred Terrance Howard over Don Cheadle as Rhodes. Wife was rubbed a bit wrong by Howard Stark not being the same actor as the one in Captain America, but seemed like a small gripe... Plus we more or less missed his whole scene because we were discussing whether or not that role's casting really mattered and also refilling our wine glasses (P.S. white wine and marvel movies go together like... white wine and Marvel movies). Wife fell in love with Mickey Rourke's Russian character when he demanded his bird. I think the feminist in Wife dug the notion of Pepper finally inheriting the CEO throne she kinda so rightly deserved. She hated Hammer as a villain, but I think for the right reasons; i.e., he's a cowardly bully creeper. From a piecing-the-puzzle-together standpoint, we liked getting introduced to Agent Romanov and the expanded roles for Fury and Kolson. Overall, Wife loves Iron Man/Tony Stark because he's a cocky dick but he truly does care and does the right things when it's do-or-die time. Plus, she likes his sense of humor and intelligence. Meanwhile, I find myself more in the Rhodes/Captain America camp... Digging their respect for duty, rules, etc. Really looking forward to how we both react when we get to Civil War. Also, in hindsight, I'm a little sad that Rhodes didn't have any role whatsoever in the Avengers movie. At this point, he seems at least as qualified as fuckface Hawkeye. Since we're in all likelihood never gonna watch Hulk (thanks also in part to being traumatized by the terribleness of the 2003 version), and since we've already seen Thor and the Avengers, it looks like Iron Man 3 is up next... Probably tomorrow. I wonder if Wife will end up Iron Man'd out after three in a row? At least we'll be back to Captain America after that with Winter Soldier. The new season of Getting My Wife Into. I hope we get some DVD extras of why she is terrified of Norton. WTF? Also hoping I forget I read the clogs thing by time Infinity comes out.
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Post by 🤯 on Nov 16, 2017 22:08:08 GMT
So Wife and I have been binge-progressing through the Marvel movies... She didn't really like Captain America: First Avenger, and it ranks at the bottom for her. She particularly hated how dumb Red Skull looked, I think. Meanwhile, I was surprised by how much I dug the movie. I mean, I was already leaning toward being a Captain fantastic going in... But this kinda sealed the deal for me. Then it was Iron Man 1 & 2. We're skipping Hulk because Edward Norton terrifies Wife. If there's a good reason we should watch Hulk (and it would have to be a REALLY GOOD reason), let me know and I'll try to present the case to Wife. Anyway... Iron Man 1 was solid and enjoyed by the both of us. However, ever since Wife pointed it out in Avengers, I can't stop focusing on RDJ's stupid bellbottom pants that are meant to hide his absurd lift clogs. So it's like a double relief for me whenever he's in the Iron Man suit. I think Iron Man 2 hung in there pretty close with Iron Man 1. Wife and I both preferred Terrance Howard over Don Cheadle as Rhodes. Wife was rubbed a bit wrong by Howard Stark not being the same actor as the one in Captain America, but seemed like a small gripe... Plus we more or less missed his whole scene because we were discussing whether or not that role's casting really mattered and also refilling our wine glasses (P.S. white wine and marvel movies go together like... white wine and Marvel movies). Wife fell in love with Mickey Rourke's Russian character when he demanded his bird. I think the feminist in Wife dug the notion of Pepper finally inheriting the CEO throne she kinda so rightly deserved. She hated Hammer as a villain, but I think for the right reasons; i.e., he's a cowardly bully creeper. From a piecing-the-puzzle-together standpoint, we liked getting introduced to Agent Romanov and the expanded roles for Fury and Kolson. Overall, Wife loves Iron Man/Tony Stark because he's a cocky dick but he truly does care and does the right things when it's do-or-die time. Plus, she likes his sense of humor and intelligence. Meanwhile, I find myself more in the Rhodes/Captain America camp... Digging their respect for duty, rules, etc. Really looking forward to how we both react when we get to Civil War. Also, in hindsight, I'm a little sad that Rhodes didn't have any role whatsoever in the Avengers movie. At this point, he seems at least as qualified as fuckface Hawkeye. Since we're in all likelihood never gonna watch Hulk (thanks also in part to being traumatized by the terribleness of the 2003 version), and since we've already seen Thor and the Avengers, it looks like Iron Man 3 is up next... Probably tomorrow. I wonder if Wife will end up Iron Man'd out after three in a row? At least we'll be back to Captain America after that with Winter Soldier. The new season of Getting My Wife Into. I hope we get some DVD extras of why she is terrified of Norton. WTF? Also hoping I forget I read the clogs thing by time Infinity comes out. :lol: re: clogs &YES! re: new season of GMWI In fact, I'm trying to convince her to start a YouTube series where she gets drunk and reviews stereotypically "guy" stuff: pro wrestling, Marvel movies, NFL, video games, science fiction, etc. She cut a live drunk promo on Saving Private Ryan the other year that I'll forever regret not capturing on video.
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Post by RagnarokMike on Nov 19, 2017 9:17:21 GMT
Caught another movie I'm been meaning to watch for a good while, Room, surpringly captivating for a movie that revolves around 2 people for almost an hour, but then really picks up dealing with the ramifications of everything. Just a great, honestly portrayed movie. A+
Also, 10 Cloverfield Lane, when you have to hinge a movie on a certain performance, you're making good decisions when it's John Goodman's. The movie itself was better than the original all around for me, but still not great, some real tension, solid performances all around, somewhat loses it at the end. But a well worth the one watch, not sure I'd return to it. C+
Finally, the Girl with All the Gifts, hard to be entirely unique in the zombie genre, but this did well enough to set itself apart. B
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Post by 🤯 on Nov 19, 2017 15:22:21 GMT
Well, the Marvel Movie train hit a penny on the tracks and almost derailed with Iron Man 3...
Wife and I both felt the main villain wasn't very well fleshed out. We were OK with and actually kinda got a kick out of the Mandarin swerve, but Guy Pearce's character and the Girl from The Town's characters were shallow and confusing.
As far as we could tell, Guy Pearce's motivation was getting stood up on some rooftop 15 years ago. That's all it takes to make a super villain? Surely Tony Stark has done the same or infinitely worse to countless others. Shouldn't there be a whole host of super villains chasing after him then? I mean, at least ditching The Girl from The Town seems like more of a reason to break bad than just being left on a roof for an hour like a doofus. And then, once Guy Peare got all ladykillered, we couldn't figure out his end goal or bigger vision... was he trying to kill Tony, or subjugate him as an unwilling employee, or take over the world (but not)... via a classically corrupt Vice President? Or was he just trying to ultimately inconvenience Tony for 60+ minutes on a rooftop somewhere?
Wife and I seemed to be on the same page in thinking that Guy Pearce's issues could've been somewhat resolved if he'd just been hopelessly obsessed with Pepper in the past, rejected by her, pissed at Tony for getting the girl of his dreams but arguably mistreating her, and desiring to "save/free" Pepper by making her more powerful than Iron Man... and if it meant killing her in the process, so be it in a if-I-can't-have-her-no-one-can kind of way. The cherry on top of this whole proposed sundae being the pain it indirectly causes Tony. Once Guy Pearce is either exposed or realizes he's powerful enough to conquer the world on his own with a vice presidential proxy, have him go super bad by killing the president himself and even double-crossing the VP (who seemed to have pretty pure motivations [i.e., helping his granddaughter grow a leg] if his means weren't on the up-and-up).
Speaking of double-crosses, we couldn't tell if The Girl from The Town was an actual baddie or a goodie at heart who fell into a shitty situation. I think we lean toward the latter, but her self death threat at the end of Act II was confusing... It seemed like killing herself would've done nothing to harm Guy Pearce and his operation. He already had her science harnessed pretty well. It didn't seem unique enough that someone else couldn't fine tune it (Tony apparently could, while drunk, 15+ years ago). And she didn't seem to have any romantic value to Guy Pearce. So no wonder he popped a cap in day uppity bitch.
Then there's the confusion around the bad guys' super power and specifically what it takes to kill them. A bad guy exploding right next to him and getting shot point blank in the face aren't enough to kill That One Guy from The Pacific, but getting shot in the chest is? And then all the bad guys in the final fight scene seem to be killed pretty easily, except for Guy Pearce... who terminators better than Terminator.
Our other gripes revolved around War Machine. Wife and I still miss Terrence Howard and feel like Don Cheadle just doesn't hold his own with RDJ. But that aside, the movie logic bothers us. First of all, if Iron Man is all PTSD'd from the whole Avengers ordeal... Why isn't War Machine actively hunting down Mandarin!? He and the U.S. government have to wait until the umpteenth bombing to finally dispatch him, WTF!? And speaking of the whole Avengers ordeal, where was War Machine for that? Considering the Battle of New York happened in... you know, New York... You'd think that the U.S. Government would have a pretty vested interest in sending their greatest weapon to join the defensive effort. But nope! And I guess Rhodes either not really like Tony that much as a friend after all, or else he must've been having his own major am-I-Terrence-Howard-or-am-I-Don-Cheadle identity crisis at the time.
Anyway... Long story short: Iron Man 3 suffered from character and logic problems, was too long and tried to be too cute at times, and reaggravated gripes about Avengers. Despite it being her beloved Iron Man/Tony Stark, she ranked this as the worst of the Marvel Movies so far (not just the worst Iron Man, but the worst of ALL Marvel Movies we've watched up to this point). My biggest compliment is that this is the best effort so far at hiding RDJ's lift clogs.
Here's hoping CA:TWS can get us back on track!
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Post by mikec on Nov 20, 2017 1:00:33 GMT
Movie theater in town does free kids movies through Christmas on the weekends. This week’s offering was The Nut Job 2, Nutty by Nature. The only one of the four movies they’re doing that I hadn’t seen yet and also easily the worst of the four (Elf, Boss Baby and Despicable and 3 are still to come).
It’s got a cute moment or two, but zero laughs. 2/5, with maybe a point because I saw it for free in a theater.
We’re skipping Elf to watching Coco next week, but I’m gonna guess we will go see at least one of the other ones again. I love a trip to the theater.
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Post by RagnarokMike on Nov 20, 2017 2:26:47 GMT
Saw Justice League, didn't fix everything, but fixed enough, wonder what the full cut will be like, really enjoyable.
Also caught Ragnarok, easily the best film in the Thor franchise, sure, a bit more comedic, and there were some pretty significant deaths that sort of felt throw away, but overall it had the highest stakes, a full on villain, and some excellent action scenes.
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Post by @admin on Nov 20, 2017 5:51:27 GMT
Caught another movie I'm been meaning to watch for a good while, Room, surpringly captivating for a movie that revolves around 2 people for almost an hour, but then really picks up dealing with the ramifications of everything. Just a great, honestly portrayed movie. A+ I was the complete opposite of this, thought the first half of the movie was absolutely captivating but found the post-escape section far less engrossing. I don’t think they did anything particularly wrong, just unusual to have a movie that is so engrossing initially but then distinctly less so.
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Post by RagnarokMike on Nov 22, 2017 9:27:07 GMT
Wacthed Pan's Labyrinth, I rented it back in the day, but as it wasn't advertised as a forgeign language film, I wasn't in the mood for it at the time. So, this time, knowing it's not in English, I gave it a full watch. Solid effort, drags a bit here and there, nothing spectacular. Some interesting visuals. Another movie I'll never watch again.
Also finally caught Spectre, I've really enjoyed the Craig Bond films, this was probably my second favorite of the bunch behind the only one I loved top to bottom, Casino Royal (3. Skyfall, 4. Quantum of Solace). I actually felt like it would have been the perfect wrap to the Craig Bonds, so a bit unfortunate they're making another. See how that plays out.
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Post by 🤯 on Nov 24, 2017 15:12:59 GMT
Got some serious Marvel Movie Review catching-up to do...
So Captain America: The Winter Soldier was pretty dope, and actually surprised me and Wife by getting Wife into the Captain America character (at least somewhat). I think we both appreciated the swervy-ness of this movie, where it kept you guessing about who to trust, who the bad guys were, who was actually dead/alive, etc. I felt like a fool because Robert Redford actually convinced me in the early goings that he was indeed a good guy who cared about his buddy Nick Fury. Guess I'm a naive dope. I guess I'm also a naive dope for thinking Fury was actually killed off. Not sure if Wife was fooled or not by Fury's staged death. Anyway... I think it's safe to say we were both caught by surprise with the Bucky reveal. Not sure if it was this movie or a later one, but at some point, Wife expressed that she like Bucky/The Winter Soldier. Anyway, overall, positive reaction. We ended up creating lists of how we both rank the Marvel Movies, and I'll include those below. CA:TWS is in my Top 5, I think.
Next up was Avengers: Ultron... and thank god we started making a point of watching the clips buried in the credits of previous movies, because that's the only help you get as A:U jumps straight into shit without explaining shit. I know too much exposition kills movies, but there's got to be a bare minimum requirement for exposition... right? Anyway, I think the only positives to come out of A:U were the debut of the twins and them turning good. Wife seemed to be affected by the Flash's death, and she has grown to really like the Non-Twin Olsen Twin Playing a Twin. I think she also liked the elaboration on Hawkeye's backstory, revealing him to be a family man. I think we were both pretty convinced this was all a setup for his death scene in that rain of minigun fire at the end. Plus, Wife loves anything that the Freaks & Geeks/Grandma's Boy girl is in... so that was a plus. I dug the debut of the Vision character, but we both really struggled with the Ultron idea.
The premise of Ultron was so sound and almost like Terminator-level good... a malfunctioning AI designed with to phase out the Avengers misinterprets its mission, and wants to just straight-up eradicate the Avengers. James Spader doesn't work as the voice of a robot, IMO. And his smarmy, snarky attitude doesn't work either... even if we try to remember that it's probably a result of being programmed by Robert Downey Jr. But why did he need a body, and such a dumb looking body? He's in the Internet of Things. That's so much better than confining yourself to a humanoid body. Even one made out of African adamantium. I dunno... Wife and I ultimately weren't impressed, and we were also left confused about what exactly Vision is. A robot, a god, an organic something-or-other? Who fucking knows. At least A:U really started sowing some seeds of tension, etc. for Civil War.
We skipped Ant-Man and headed straight for Avengers 2.5: Civil War (feat. Captain America). I think I fucking loved this, and I think Wife did too. I should've written up recaps before now so that the memories would've been more fresh. I think this is where she really got on board with Bucky, and even started siding with Captain American over her previously beloved Iron Man. I think the shittyness of Iron Man 3 really helped form the cracks in the relationship with Iron Man, then Ultron didn't do much to repair those cracks, and then Civil War finally broke things apart and flipped her. We were both surprised about which sides Iron Man and Captain America took. We both totally would've assumed that Captain America would've toed the government-drawn, duty-inspired line while Iron Man would've been the one to buck authority. So the reverse of that being played out in this movie was an interesting and fun surprise. We also fucking LOVED the introduction of Ant-Man and Spider Man (and not so much Black Panther). In fact, this needs its own paragraph.
We were both of the same mind in thinking, how the fuck can Paul Rudd play a believable super hero... and a super hero called Ant-Man at that? Who's super power is what, shrinking? And then he turned out to be fucking hilarious and awesome. So we slotted Ant-Man back into our queue for some retroactive viewing. Then, having been raised on the Tobey Maguire Spider Man (and never really being a Spider Man fan to begin with), we were kinda "ugh" on the notion of Spider Man being reintroduced yet again here... but the writing and casting this time seemed spot-on perfect. So much so, in fact, that I think Wife and I are equally excited to get to the Spider Man movie in this universe. Meanwhile, Black Panther didn't really register for either of us. He struck me as too "Cat Woman" for my liking, and I can't recall Wife's exact gripe... perhaps that "Black Panther" was just too on the nose as far as a gimmick to be played by a black guy, straight outta Africa no less, and/but with no ties to the actual Black Panther movement. Can't say we're totally looking forward to the idea of a standalone Black Panther movie. But anyway...
Something we find fault with in most of the Marvel Movies so far is the villains, and how well they're developed and fleshed out in terms of backstories, motivations, end game visions, etc. To me, I think the villain in CA:CW was the best to date. He had a perfect backstory/motivation, and his end game vision was simple enough and totally effective. The climactic battle between Captain America (feat. The Winter Soldier) and Iron Man was intense and surprisingly emotional. Wife and I ultimately decided that we don't really like Avengers fighting each other, and we also miss Thor and Loki.
After the intensity of Civil War, we jumped back to delve into Ant-Man. And fucking loved it. Super pleasant surprise. Paul Rudd and his gang worked as funny, lovable, believable heroes. The Ant-Man concept was better fleshed out, and I actually really dig the idea of the sub-atomic stuff. Michael Douglas was pretty dope in his role. Loved the Falcon interaction. The villain was the perfect kind of one-off dick. And the stepfather cop was a perfect dick too. Plus, an Avon Barksdale cameo (albeit on the wrong side of the wrong side of the law here) is always a win in my book. Perfect blend of action and comedy, and nothing overly offensive as far as logic goes. In fact, it seems like maybe Marvel is starting to learn that it doesn't take much effort to better flesh out their villains... because it didn't seem like too much effort was put into Dr. Cross, but he seemed understandable/believable enough. I think Wife and I are equally excited for a potential Ant-Man & Wasp movie in the future (or at least tag team in future Avengers movie).
All in all, we're pretty close to caught up with what's available on streaming services. And I think we're approaching a burnout point. Not totally sure. Doctor Strange is up next, and he's a totally new/foreign character, and we vaguely recall his trailers looking confusing, so we're not really raring to go and dive into his movie... or maybe I'm misreading Wife and projecting my own feelings onto her. I guess we'll see how we progress from here.
Anyway, as promised at the start of this novel-length post, here's our rankings of favorite Marvel Movies up through Ultron:
Rank > Wife > PI 01. GG1 :: GG1 02. AV1 :: GG2 03. TH2 :: AV1 04. IM1 :: CA2 05. IM2 :: IM1 06. CA2 :: TH1 07. TH1 :: CA1 08. GG2 :: TH2 09. AV2 :: AV2 10. CA1 :: IM2 11. IM3 :: IM3
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2017 15:58:17 GMT
I watched Pocahontas on Netflix Wednesday night and again last night with my little 2 year old niece, it was the first time she's seen it and it was an instant hit, she's crazy about it. I actually kinda dig it too, some great music and beautiful animation.
I can't believe there is no way to just rent any old Disney movies with all this streaming technology. I tried to find some of the classics like Lion King, Snow White, etc, Amazon has them but all of them say "This title is unavailable in your area", the small handful that are on there you have to buy for full price, $20, WTF? You can't just rent an old Disney movie to stream with the kiddos? Bring back brick and mortar video stores, could rent fucking 5 Disney movies for like $5 and keep them for 5 days. WAAAAAAY better.
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Post by 🤯 on Nov 24, 2017 17:39:45 GMT
Updated Marvel Movie Ranking (confirmed with Wife just now to account for CA3 & AM):
01. Wife - GG1; PI - CA3 02. Wife - AV1; PI - GG1 03. Wife - TH2; PI - ANT 04. Wife - CA3; PI - GG2 05. Wife - IM2; PI - AV1 06. Wife - ANT; PI - CA2 07. Wife - IM1; PI - IM1 (we match!) 08. Wife - CA2; PI - TH1 09. Wife - TH1; PI - CA1 10. Wife - GG2; PI - TH2 11. Wife - AV2; PI - AV2 (we match!) 12. Wife - CA1; PI - IM2 13. Wife - IM3; PI - IM3 (we match!)
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Post by mikec on Nov 24, 2017 21:22:50 GMT
Just left the theater from Coco. I kind of had a hunch this wouldn’t be my daughters movie and I was right. Between the occasional Spanish language and customs and the idea of an afterlife she was a little behind the movie and was barely paying attention by the end.
I thought it was good for a cartoon (I’ve seen eight animated movies in theaters this year and it’s head and shoulders above all of them), but about average for Pixar, a little bit in the predictable side. They got me at the end though with the tears.
I think there still might be one animated feature to come this year, but if you’re wondering for rankings:
1 Coco 2 Boss Baby 3 Despicable Me 3 4 Cars 3 5 Smurfs: The Lost Village 6 Captain Underpants 7 The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature 8 My Little Pony The Movie
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Post by vendrell on Nov 27, 2017 23:10:40 GMT
Sounds like hell having to sit through that many kids movies, Mike.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe: I really enjoyed the first half, I started trailing off a bit towards the second half and the ending left me a bit deflated. It was just ok. Worth a watch but only once. I give it a C-
Dallas Buyers Club: Of course I had already seen this before but I had a free HBO weekend and this was on. A well deserved Oscar win, a great story, and great performances from all involved. A+
Philadelphia: There are so many great movies in the Tom Hanks cannon but I keep coming back to Philadelphia and Cast Away as my favorites. Just such a well acted movie. Both Hanks and Denzel did such an amazing job with this. A+
Out Of Sight: Seen this before as well but not in awhile. The chemistry between Clooney and Lopez is on point but I will say that I found that it kind of loses it's steam about halfway in. The first hour or so I'm all in, after that though my interest just wains a bit. Still an ok movie but not a multiple viewer. C+
Obsessed: I consider myself a straight man but somehow in a movie that featured both Beyonce and Ali Larter, I was most attracted to Idris Elba. The man is smooth chocolate, lets just call a spade a spade. Anyways I've seen this before and it was every bit as mediocre as I remember it being. It's one of those movies that is so clearly meant to be rated R but the studio convinced them to make it PG-13 to get the young crowd into the seats. Really, gearing movies towards tweens is killing the movie industry in quality of film. Not that Obsessed would be a great movie if it were hard R but it would of made things more interesting to see a boob or something. Beyonce's character is such a bitch and Larter is a psycho and Elba plays a very stupid but jaw droppingly handsome man. Just meh. The beginning was ok, I liked the pieces they set into place but by the time Larter becomes a psycho I just didn't give a fuck. D-
Edge of Seventeen: I saw this once before but I didn't realize it was R-rated until this viewing which is so fucking bizarre. How does a movie like Obsessed that is more adult oriented get a PG-13 rating but a film like Edge of 17 whose star is very popular with teen girls get an R rating? I just thought that was strange. In any event I loved this movie. My MASSIVE crush on Hailee Steinfeld helps in that department I think but Woody Harrelson was also so good and really this just hit all the notes for me. It was a teen-ish comedy yes but had some heavy elements and had a lot of heart. A-
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Post by 🤯 on Nov 28, 2017 0:44:56 GMT
Sounds like hell having to sit through that many kids movies, Mike. Edge of Seventeen: I saw this once before but I didn't realize it was R-rated until this viewing which is so fucking bizarre. How does a movie like Obsessed that is more adult oriented get a PG-13 rating but a film like Edge of 17 whose star is very popular with teen girls get an R rating? I just thought that was strange. In any event I loved this movie. My MASSIVE crush on Hailee Steinfeld helps in that department I think but Woody Harrelson was also so good and really this just hit all the notes for me. It was a teen-ish comedy yes but had some heavy elements and had a lot of heart. A- Fuck yeah! Wife and I were not only pleasantly surprised by, but ended up loving Edge of Seventeen.
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Post by vendrell on Nov 28, 2017 0:54:41 GMT
Sounds like hell having to sit through that many kids movies, Mike. Edge of Seventeen: I saw this once before but I didn't realize it was R-rated until this viewing which is so fucking bizarre. How does a movie like Obsessed that is more adult oriented get a PG-13 rating but a film like Edge of 17 whose star is very popular with teen girls get an R rating? I just thought that was strange. In any event I loved this movie. My MASSIVE crush on Hailee Steinfeld helps in that department I think but Woody Harrelson was also so good and really this just hit all the notes for me. It was a teen-ish comedy yes but had some heavy elements and had a lot of heart. A- Fuck yeah! Wife and I were not only pleasantly surprised by, but ended up loving Edge of Seventeen. I like how the brother/sister dynamic played out. Usually that sort of friction would be between the two love interests in a film but they took the sibling rivalry angle in this and it was very refreshing to see that devolving relationship kind of be the backbone of the movie. As far as genuine laughs go though, Woody Harrelson reading her explicit text message to the guy she was crushing on had me rolling.
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Post by RagnarokMike on Nov 29, 2017 7:17:48 GMT
Been on a binge spree because I got Amazon Prime for another week.
Stemming from a facebook post of "Name a major 80's movie you've never seen," I had never watched an Indiana Jones movie in it's entirety, since APV had them I have now seen all 4. I pretty much think they got a little worse with each entry, so Raiders was my favorite, and like most people, Crystal Skull was my least favorite. I liked them all, not to a fanboyish extent, but entertaining enough. I think Raiders of the Lost Arc is really the only one I'd care to watch regularly, all decent, just didn't grip me the same as the first one. Raiders: A-, Temple: B, Crusade: B-, Crystal Skull: C
Free Fire: Surprisingly brisk for a movie that's a small set of characters in one location for almost all of the movie's run time. Great cast keep it fun, and it's basically an hour and a half long shootout with some colorful characters and snappy dialog. Enjoyed myself start to finish, would watch again. A
Green Room: Small suspense thriller about a band being caught in hostile situation after stumbling on a murder. Nothing spectacular, but well acted, solid pace, and intense enough. Always kind of a bummer seing Anton Yelchin, such a talented guy. Still good movie, never really felt it dragging, not the most compelling. C+
Fences: Another movie with a small cast of characters primarily in a single location carried entirely on performances, mainly that of Denzel and especially Viola Davis. Felt a bit disjointed at times, maybe a bit long in the tooth, but written and acted well enough that I came away happy I had watched it. Just a small, intimate drama. B+
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Post by Big Pete on Nov 29, 2017 13:27:56 GMT
Kimi no na wa (2016; Shinkai) : It's been ages since I've watched an anime movie, but this has received so much acclaim, I decided to check it out. On the surface, this is a young romance movie about two star-crossed lovers who somehow wake up in each other's bodies. As they constantly swap, they learn about one another and help solve each other's problems. It's a fun ride and you know where it's going when all of a sudden the movie takes a hard left and becomes a different genre entirely. I won't spoil it, but it's a fun set-up with great art-work and characterisations. My only qualm with the movie was the music which will just insert shitty J-Pop into random scenes and completely kill the vibe of the movie.
I'd only just come across it, but I hear it's one of the most over-hyped anime movies of all-time, so I'm well and truly behind the times.
Next up: A Ghost Story & Good Times.
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Post by 🤯 on Dec 1, 2017 2:11:13 GMT
Doctor Strange was whatever. Ranked toward the bottom of both Wife's and my list.
Then Spider Man Homecoming was fucking great. Loved that there was no origin story retread, and that the hero didn't get the girl in the end. This did the impossible in getting me into Spider Man as a character for the first time ever, and helped Wife get over her Tobey Maguire Spider Man PTSD.
That all said, I think Iron Man is still Wife's favorite, as she's apparently waking up in tears from dreams in which Iron Man chooses to marry Pepper over her (not sure if I should be concerned...).
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Post by mikec on Dec 1, 2017 15:26:38 GMT
Sounds like hell having to sit through that many kids movies, Mike. Occasionally there’s a bad one, like My Little Pony, but most of the time they’re pretty painless. They’re always short, they have pretty constant humor or attempts at humor, and they’re colorful. Plus there’s nothing quite like the lights dimming and the anticipation of the movie starting.
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Post by Emperor on Dec 3, 2017 22:21:03 GMT
Wonder Woman The only thing I really enjoyed about this film was the fish-out-of-water scenes when Diana first leaves her homeland and enters the real world. That had already been done very well in Thor. Wonder Woman did it a little better, I feel. The rest of the film did not grab me at all. The origin story served its purpose in explaining her actions and motivations, but didn't particularly endear me to any of the characters. The main story...yeah, I get it, WWII was awful, nazis are horrible. Wonder Woman is the most invincible super hero out of all the heroes in modern times, so none of her action scenes were particularly dramatic. Didn't really get the point of the whole super poison gas thing. The general who inhaled the supervillain cocaine gas turned out to be just another grunt, so was that really necessary? Then David Thewlis appears from out of nowhere, revealing himself as the main villain, then some cliched stuff about how all humans are horrible in the eyes of the gods and must be obliterated. Wonder Woman gets her ass kicked then suddenly becomes stronger than her foe because "love". Ugh. I wouldn't dislike this as much if the superhero market isn't as oversaturated as it is, but it is oversaturated, and Wonder Woman does little to set itself apart besides having a female lead. I was constantly comparing it to the Thor and Captain America films.
Big Hero 6 Fantastic premise, charming characters, and very funny. But the second half was kinda disappointing. Not necessarily bad, but with such a great concept, I felt like they could have got a better story out of it, rather than just another supehero team actionfest rehash. I know this is a Marvel film, and presumably based on a comic book, so I guess I should have expected something along those lines going in, but it all felt so forced. Bunch of nerdy robotics students suddenly have superhero-like athleticism and fighting ability just to suit the plot. It's also a story that could have done without the surprising twist. The masked man being the evil corporate guy would have been the logical and expected outcome, and he would have been a genuine villain to root against. Turns out it's the professor, who's also against the evil corporate guy but also tries to kill the good guys repeatedly. Are we for or against him? I didn't know, so I had little emotional investment. Sometimes the obvious scenario is the correct one, and that's Big Hero's biggest flaw. Despite all that, a very good film.
The Gift Amazing slow burn psychological thriller that asks question after question about human nature, with a plot that turns expectations on its head. This is the first time I've seen Jason Bateman in a serious role, and he knocks it out of the park, riding the fine line between clean-cut successful guy and under-the-surface shithead very well. Rebecca Hall and Joel Edgerton are fantastic as well. The closing act was a little on the convoluted side, but hardly anything that ruins the film. The story ended in exactly the way it should end given the disturbing revelations.
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Post by thereallt on Dec 4, 2017 0:21:43 GMT
LOL, Wonder Woman was set in WW I before the Nazis
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Post by Emperor on Dec 4, 2017 0:55:45 GMT
LOL, Wonder Woman was set in WW I before the Nazis You know, I was thinking that when the soldiers first appeared, because of their uniforms and guns, but my friends told me it was WWII so I believed them. Everything is about WWII, and I don't expect a Marvel film to be super historically accurate anyway. Well now I know. Doesn't really detract from the point, though.
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