In Italy for the purposes of improving my Italian, I bought the grahic novel of Zootopolis. I'm about a third of the way through and it's just the movie, in Italian. It's pretty damn good the second time around in novel form in a foreign language.
Just because you are sometimes (often) wrong when you say something is bad doesn't mean you are wrong when you say something is good. Though you can be wrong then also.
Of course saying that well liked classic movie from Hitchcock is good doesn't take a genius.
Just because you are sometimes (often) wrong when you say something is bad doesn't mean you are wrong when you say something is good. Though you can be wrong then also.
Of course saying that well liked classic movie from Hitchcock is good doesn't take a genius.
The point is people be calling me stubborn or a hater for not watching (insert hot new show here). Meanwhile, if they haven't even seen Rear Window they can shut the hell right up.
Threw on Netflix's The Fundamentals Of Caring while I was working this weekend and ended being completely locked into it within minutes. As a person with a disabled sibling (and my own fair share of cognitive disorders), it really just hit home. It was occasionally pretty campy and silly, with one character who feels entirely written in for the purpose of moving Paul Rudd's character forward, though most of the scenes are simply genuine. Very much recommend the movie, even as just a feel-good sunday night flick.
I also saw Boogie Nights, which was one rollercoaster of a weird movie. I can't help,but feel that it was 3 or 4 seperate movies cobbled into one, and I can't tell if it's making the commentary it does on purpose or not. There's certainly,something to be said for Don Cheadle's parts of the film, if nothing else.
Forgot to say I did go to see Don't Breathe. Wow. The last quarter of that movie really goes off the rails. It goes from a respectable and well-executed run of the mill-type horror movie, straight into over-the-top horror camp. It executes the latter just as well, but the shift is definitely noticeable and a bit jarring (we started laughing out loud in the theater). Enjoyable movie, but I wouldn't go out of your way to see it.
Saw swiss army man without reading any spoilers. I mean, it probably wasn't worth the time investment, but I was still amused.
I feel like environment plays a big role in your enjoyment of that movie. I saw it in a theater with my friends and a whole bunch of people who were equally confused and it was amazing.
I generally like to keep up with sci-fi action movies and superheroes when I'm traveling on planes and ships. The bad movies are all part of the experience.
Stop punishing yourself with bad movies. Next thing you'll end up watching Suicide Squad.
If can get through Batman v Superman, he could get through Suicide Squad.
New Best of the Year contender: Train To Busan. Best zombie movie I have seen in a decade. Made in South Korean and it's actually a sequel to an animated korean zombie movie called Seoul Station (but there never seems to be any direct continuous story, only background information). Make the zombies strong, but not overpowered. The way people can combat or slow down the zombies is very innovative and well done. It moves from a train station to inside multiple trains themselves at a fast pace when plenty of time for character development and tension to rise. This is classic Romero quality featuring characters you actually care about and very emotional reveals and sudden changes. Fantastic movie.
Stop punishing yourself with bad movies. Next thing you'll end up watching Suicide Squad.
If can get through Batman v Superman, he could get through Suicide Squad.
You know, I've seen a youtube series recently that made me take a second look at it - You know CinemaSins? Well, there's some other dude who does the opposite, called CinemaWins, talking about all the good things in a film. The fact that it's a nice dose of relentless positivity aside, it puts a pretty different spin on things from what you usually hear about BVS, without shying away from having an opinion and just needing to be purely one way or another.
There is a lot that is good in BvS:DoJ, and much more that could have been good. But it's brought low by a very weak story, character motivations that are shallow or just don't make sense, and terrible editing.
Everyone was right about Agents of Shield. It really picks up in the second half of the season. We watched up to episode 15 and then:
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
First, I'm really glad that the directors of this movie (Russo brothers) are directing the next two main Avengers movies, because they really seem to get what needs to be done. The Winter Soldier is probably the most interesting movie so far, and also one of the most solid in terms of plot and movie making in general.
The action and stunts in this movie are a cut above most of the rest of the series. I guess that's because the many of the stars are human-level with mostly human abilities. Cap is super strong, sure, but the rest have to make do with just driving and punching and shooting. Nick Fury's car chase scene near the start of the movie was genuinely excellent compared to even the best car-gun fights I've seen.
Black Widow kicks ass, and Falcon's arrival in the team, while abrupt, isn't too jarring.
References to other movies/TV:
As we've been watching Agents of Shield season one, Agent Sitwell's character, and what he was doing in this movie, meant a lot more than the first time I watched it.
Having watched the next two Shield episodes, things are certainly going to get a lot more interesting from here on! Not sure of the exact timings of how things are meant to fit in with the movie, but it generally worked.
Main bad guy: Again, back to the old standard of having the bad guy have the same powers and level as the hero, but bad. Am I talking about The Winter Soldier vs Captain America or Hydra vs Shield? Both!
Thankfully the Winter Soldier is more interesting than most of the bad guys in the other movies.
Comments from Juliane: "The Winter Soldier has a deathlock arm too." "So who in the TV show is going to be Hydra?"
Stan Lee cameo: Guard at the Smithsonian.
Overall: While not the most fun, probably the best of the bunch so far in terms of movie making, character, action and plot.
Next up: the rest of Agents of Shield season 1, then Luke Cage (we're doing that one out of order), then Guardians of the Galaxy.
Best Godzilla movie I have ever seen that didn't have Mothra in it.
Being directed by Hideaki Anno, it is very very very Evangelion. Many of the shots in the movies are directly taken from Evangelion episodes. Just replace whatever angel with Godzilla. Of course, Anno cribbed the shots in those Evangelion episodes from older Godzilla/Ultraman movies and such, so the cycle continues.
The plot plays out exactly like a two hour long Evangelion episode. Monster appears. They have to learn everything about it, concoct a plan to beat it, then execute that plan. All the while they have to deal with politics and bureaucracy that stand in their way. Most of the movie is an overt and heavy-handed commentary on Japanese society/history/politics, but that is what Godzilla always has been.
It reminded me of episode of Eva where they had to deal with the politics surrounding the crappy non-NERV nuclear Eva alternative robot that Misato had to crawl inside and shut down. Even morseo it reminded me of the Dance Dance Revolution episode where they tried everything to beat it, failed, bought some time, concocted a plan, and executed.
Not to mention, if you want to see some fucking destruction/disaster/military porn, this is king. Helicopters, tanks, artillery, planes, and boats firing all forms of ordinance. Every form of transportation from cars, boats, trains, planes, all being smashed. Every type of architecture from homes to skyscrapers destroyed. Everything gets smashed, sliced, incinerated, demolished, imploded, and exploded every which way. Every excruciating detail of destruction captured on film for your viewing pleasure.
Lastly, variations on this exact song are used basically non-stop. Get ready to have the timpani rhythm stuck in your head.
The movie is extremely Japanese in every aspect. Plenty of anti-American sentiment and other things that could make parts, or the whole, hard to watch for some people. We saw it with the original Japanese audio and subtitles. There are many scenes where characters speak poor Engrish, and there are Japanese subtitles. There was even a scene where German people speak German with Japanese subtitles. I sure hope that German dialogue was better than the English dialogue.
We finished up the end of Agents of Shield season 1, and then...
Guardians of the Galaxy
Both Juliane and I had seen this many times before, including in the cinema, so we both knew it was going to be good. And it was! Certainly the most fun movie so far.
The only bad part is the bit in near the middle where they fly around in mining vehicles. It's so dumb it hurts. And some of the focus on Uhura's behind gets a bit tired.
The comedy in this one is really strong. Even in places where another movie would be playing just for drama or sentiment, they have great moments of comedy mixed in that don't diminish the drama or sentiment, but somehow elevate it! It's very impressive.
Main bad guy: Some moody guy in hood? Whatever. Thanos? Who is he. Don't give a shit.
Comments from Juliane: "I want a Groot!" "Dance off!" "Can Rocket Racoon be in every movie?"
Stan Lee cameo: Old man chatting up young women in the shopping mall at the start.
Overall: Up in the top level of MCU movies so far!
Next up: Two episodes into Luke Cage now. Very interesting so far.
Comments
What did you see?
It's Scott. That asshole was right again. How does he do it?
Of course saying that well liked classic movie from Hitchcock is good doesn't take a genius.
As a person with a disabled sibling (and my own fair share of cognitive disorders), it really just hit home.
It was occasionally pretty campy and silly, with one character who feels entirely written in for the purpose of moving Paul Rudd's character forward, though most of the scenes are simply genuine.
Very much recommend the movie, even as just a feel-good sunday night flick.
I also saw Boogie Nights, which was one rollercoaster of a weird movie. I can't help,but feel that it was 3 or 4 seperate movies cobbled into one, and I can't tell if it's making the commentary it does on purpose or not. There's certainly,something to be said for Don Cheadle's parts of the film, if nothing else.
New Best of the Year contender: Train To Busan. Best zombie movie I have seen in a decade. Made in South Korean and it's actually a sequel to an animated korean zombie movie called Seoul Station (but there never seems to be any direct continuous story, only background information). Make the zombies strong, but not overpowered. The way people can combat or slow down the zombies is very innovative and well done. It moves from a train station to inside multiple trains themselves at a fast pace when plenty of time for character development and tension to rise. This is classic Romero quality featuring characters you actually care about and very emotional reveals and sudden changes. Fantastic movie.
"Take this, Clark!"
"Sorry Bruce, did you say something? Literally invincible, remember"
Actually, I can think of one way to make a good superman movie, but he doesn't care about humans and moved to Mars.
I'd vote Veidt-Manhattan 2016.
Everyone was right about Agents of Shield. It really picks up in the second half of the season. We watched up to episode 15 and then:
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
First, I'm really glad that the directors of this movie (Russo brothers) are directing the next two main Avengers movies, because they really seem to get what needs to be done. The Winter Soldier is probably the most interesting movie so far, and also one of the most solid in terms of plot and movie making in general.
The action and stunts in this movie are a cut above most of the rest of the series. I guess that's because the many of the stars are human-level with mostly human abilities. Cap is super strong, sure, but the rest have to make do with just driving and punching and shooting. Nick Fury's car chase scene near the start of the movie was genuinely excellent compared to even the best car-gun fights I've seen.
Black Widow kicks ass, and Falcon's arrival in the team, while abrupt, isn't too jarring.
References to other movies/TV:
As we've been watching Agents of Shield season one, Agent Sitwell's character, and what he was doing in this movie, meant a lot more than the first time I watched it.
Having watched the next two Shield episodes, things are certainly going to get a lot more interesting from here on! Not sure of the exact timings of how things are meant to fit in with the movie, but it generally worked.
Main bad guy:
Again, back to the old standard of having the bad guy have the same powers and level as the hero, but bad. Am I talking about The Winter Soldier vs Captain America or Hydra vs Shield? Both!
Thankfully the Winter Soldier is more interesting than most of the bad guys in the other movies.
Comments from Juliane:
"The Winter Soldier has a deathlock arm too."
"So who in the TV show is going to be Hydra?"
Stan Lee cameo:
Guard at the Smithsonian.
Overall:
While not the most fun, probably the best of the bunch so far in terms of movie making, character, action and plot.
Next up: the rest of Agents of Shield season 1, then Luke Cage (we're doing that one out of order), then Guardians of the Galaxy.
Best Godzilla movie I have ever seen that didn't have Mothra in it.
Being directed by Hideaki Anno, it is very very very Evangelion. Many of the shots in the movies are directly taken from Evangelion episodes. Just replace whatever angel with Godzilla. Of course, Anno cribbed the shots in those Evangelion episodes from older Godzilla/Ultraman movies and such, so the cycle continues.
The plot plays out exactly like a two hour long Evangelion episode. Monster appears. They have to learn everything about it, concoct a plan to beat it, then execute that plan. All the while they have to deal with politics and bureaucracy that stand in their way. Most of the movie is an overt and heavy-handed commentary on Japanese society/history/politics, but that is what Godzilla always has been.
It reminded me of episode of Eva where they had to deal with the politics surrounding the crappy non-NERV nuclear Eva alternative robot that Misato had to crawl inside and shut down. Even morseo it reminded me of the Dance Dance Revolution episode where they tried everything to beat it, failed, bought some time, concocted a plan, and executed.
Not to mention, if you want to see some fucking destruction/disaster/military porn, this is king. Helicopters, tanks, artillery, planes, and boats firing all forms of ordinance. Every form of transportation from cars, boats, trains, planes, all being smashed. Every type of architecture from homes to skyscrapers destroyed. Everything gets smashed, sliced, incinerated, demolished, imploded, and exploded every which way. Every excruciating detail of destruction captured on film for your viewing pleasure.
Lastly, variations on this exact song are used basically non-stop. Get ready to have the timpani rhythm stuck in your head.
The movie is extremely Japanese in every aspect. Plenty of anti-American sentiment and other things that could make parts, or the whole, hard to watch for some people. We saw it with the original Japanese audio and subtitles. There are many scenes where characters speak poor Engrish, and there are Japanese subtitles. There was even a scene where German people speak German with Japanese subtitles. I sure hope that German dialogue was better than the English dialogue.
https://www.inverse.com/article/22023-shin-godzilla-s-japanese-politics-and-meaning-of-godzilla-films
We finished up the end of Agents of Shield season 1, and then...
Guardians of the Galaxy
Both Juliane and I had seen this many times before, including in the cinema, so we both knew it was going to be good. And it was! Certainly the most fun movie so far.
The only bad part is the bit in near the middle where they fly around in mining vehicles. It's so dumb it hurts. And some of the focus on Uhura's behind gets a bit tired.
The comedy in this one is really strong. Even in places where another movie would be playing just for drama or sentiment, they have great moments of comedy mixed in that don't diminish the drama or sentiment, but somehow elevate it! It's very impressive.
Main bad guy:
Some moody guy in hood? Whatever. Thanos? Who is he. Don't give a shit.
Comments from Juliane:
"I want a Groot!"
"Dance off!"
"Can Rocket Racoon be in every movie?"
Stan Lee cameo:
Old man chatting up young women in the shopping mall at the start.
Overall:
Up in the top level of MCU movies so far!
Next up: Two episodes into Luke Cage now. Very interesting so far.