Topic: The Movie Thread

@redd214 The creators of the movie shouldn't be able to pull it off but they did. The Russo Brothers and Kevin Feige are legends in my book. Hats off to the writers of Infinity War and Endgame as well. I don't know how they could've done it any better. The movie had so many callbacks, nods to the comics and payoffs that didn't felt cheap. Even having Harley Keener attending Tony's funeral was such a nice touch. I almost cried during that funeral scene. Also, what a great way to cap off the story with Rogers finally getting what he always wanted.

Gotta give Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. credit for getting the ball rolling as well along with Josh Whedon for proving that you can actually make great superhero team movie.

Really sad that it has ended but also looking forward to what they're going to do in Phase 4. I'm especially excited for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 even more now that it seems like Thor could be joining the gang.

@ZeD dude just go by yourself it's totally worth it!!!

@WanderingBullet agreed on everything. The fact that they've been able to keep this going through 20 movies, all of which were at least above average imo, over a decade, with I think only 1 or 2 major recasts, and have it be (relatively) coherent is amazing. Especially considering the egos involved with successful actors most of the time. Only 3 more hours til I get to see it again with my sons, definitely going to enjoy this time more I think!!

@ZeD I think Blu-rays usually comes out around maybe 3 months after?... So not that long.

@redd214 Haha, enjoy the movie.

OK so saw Endgame last night and I am still not sure what I think about it. Not that it wasn’t great, which it was wow, just so much to process in my head. So much happened. Got back late last night and then couldn’t sleep as my brain was buzzing!!!

@redd214 I might do. I still have yet to see Captain Marvel or Into The Spider-verse; so a little behind..

Endgame is pretty satisfying. A well crafted way to 'go out'.
Don't quite like a couple of bits - but as I say, the Russos have done a remarkable job putting the film together.

@ZeD would definitely recommend seeing CM first. Even though Endgame is 100% a better film, does make a few things clearer.

@redd214 @ZeD
I still haven't seen Captain Marvel either - can't say that I feel like I missed anything in terms of Endgame really.

@KALofKRYPTON how would you even know if you didn't see it lol. I'm not saying you'll miss critical story beats but since he mentioned it, I offered my opinion. Thanks though.

@redd214 this is what annoys me the most about th mcu. So much investment now 😑
People said I needed to see Black Panther before Infinity Wars but to this day I still haven't lol.

@redd214 Well, I don't live in a cave and there are clear story beats shown in the trailers etc. Her presence, and previous lack thereof are addressed within Endgame and her impact on the film is actually minimal so yeah. I've no doubt something was shoehorned in to CM to tie it more in to the 'Infinity Saga' - but it seems pretty inconsequential to Endgame if it is there.

@ZeD you should be fine overall, like a said it may "make a few things clearer" won't be story breaking. Though I would recommend seeing BP, tops the list of MCU for me personally.

@KALofKRYPTON cool man, glad you enjoyed the movie

@ZeD I'd recommend BP before Endgame too. Puts a couple of things (set piece scenes mainly) in Endgame in to context.
Not story breaking, if you don't, but there's a visual escalation that is cool to note.

Not to break into the Avengers excitement but I had another movie to comment on.
...Now, I am hoping to see End Game next week. I got busy and didn’t buy tickets in advance and all theaters were sold out for opening weekend when I looked yesterday after work.
Maybe I’ll watch Infinity War tonight to get me hyped up.

Anyways —
What I did watch instead last night was the much maligned Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Warning ⚠️— I’m going to spoil the movie in this post and not use spoiler tags, because, well I feel like if you haven’t seen it or had it spoiled by now, you don’t care anyways.
I have been critical of the movie in the past, but I know a few have come to its defense here on the forums, notably Indy aficionado @RogerRoger I believe. I had been meaning to give it another chance because I had only seen it once several years ago when I don’t know if I really paid attention all that well.

In short, the movie is actually much better than I remember. In fact 2/3 of it is about as entertaining as most any popcorn flick. There is a heavy amount of campiness and a little bit of an antiquated way of storytelling (plot points jump quickly, fights are toned down yet exaggerated affairs where for example people stand still until they’re hit and fly across the room in the old style of John Wayne movies and spaghetti western bar fights, the hero seems omniscient and you never really feel he’s in mortal danger, the villains are stereotyped and one-faceted, etc, etc, etc.), but it works. You have to go in expecting to watch an old-fashioned ‘suspend all disbelief’ type of adventure film. When I approached it this way, it made it much more fun to watch. Harrison Ford and Karen Allen really do have great chemistry. And I like Le Beouf and Cate Blanchett, although this isn’t necessarily their best work, they serve acceptably in their supporting roles.

Nevertheless, I still had issue with the last act. The Mayan ruins, the puzzles, the bad guys chasing them down — all that was fine. It’s just the “inter-dimensional beings” which made it fall flat for me. Even as cheesy as the crystal skull McGuffin item looks as they carry around that ridiculous thing the whole movie, I could still relish in the narrative around it and the wacky adventures, but once the crystal skeletons and then the Area 51 looking humanoid creature and flying saucer show up, it was so far out of place that no measure of ‘1980’s campy / homage to the old adventure serials / suspend your disbelief for some innocent fun’ could help me swallow that part. I grimaced a little and tried to focus on the interesting special effects though and still enjoyed the movie, but I would have liked a climax that was less .... I don’t know, corny? Something more like the end of Raiders could have easily worked there. But I suppose I respect Spielberg for trying something new. Of the four movies, I’d still put it in last place on the rankings, but after watching it again with the correct attitude, I would not deem it ‘pointless’ (to use Noisy’s categorization vernacular)

It does make me wonder how they are going to approach Indy 5. Surely there is going to be an attempt at trying to erase this movie’s hiccups and get back to the roots as far as story goes. I am a little disappointed that La Beouf is not involved, nor Allen. But I don’t think the public was as enthralled with Indy having a ‘greaser’ son as I was. We’ll see.

Welp, saw Endgame opening night. Cried my eyes out. But it was pretty good.

@Th3solution I agree with you. Most of that movie is one of the better Jones movies. But the aliens thing was bologna.

@RogerRoger Sure thing. I would be interested to see if you like it even more when you rewatch it.
And I think you’re absolutely right about the trend of dark and grim settings and heroes at the time. I hadn’t realized that. The film actually came out a week apart from The Dark Knight in July 2008, which fact I hadn’t realized (until I just now googled it) but now it makes sense. The two movies couldn’t be further from each other with Christopher Nolan’s dark and brooding world, protagonist who never smiles and appears to be in constant anguish, Leger’s Joker who although has a little bit of comic relief is also a frightening psychopath the stuff of nightmares. (“Wanna see this pencil disappear”) And I love Nolan’s Batman Trilogy, especially The Dark Knight, but it’s very different from Indiana Jones’s style, as you stated.
Perhaps the pendulum has swung back a little bit with the success of the MCU and the public is more ripe for action adventure films with a little more whimsy and light-heartedness. Maybe that’s why I enjoyed IJ4 this time around but didn’t before. I don’t know.
And although I won’t get to it right away because I have to procure some copies, I think I will also re-try the Star Wars prequels with a fresh set of eyes, also in light of your recommendations. Maybe I haven’t watched those with quite the open mind I needed to. 😋

@RogerRoger Lol, well I have enjoyed the prequels in their own right. It’s just that I preferred the latter episodes. And I think I’ve been tainted by the public outcry against episodes 1-3. It’s hard not to be influenced by a loud vocal mob of rabid fans 😛

So... Endgame. Just got back from it.

...it was alright. Definitely better than Infinity War. This one actually had a rather charming plot, and some actually permanent consequences, and a surprising amount of levity. Although the way they handle Hawkeye's coping mechanism of wanton contract murder-- by introducing it and then casually brushing it aside-- will never not be hysterically bad. Great cinema this is not.

Aside from The Winter Soldier, though, which I remember being superb the whole way through, why do all the Russo Brothers Marvel films turn into a chaotic mess where hordes of CGI things run at each-other by the end? It just looks silly and cartoonish, like something out of a video game. I'll give them a pass here, though, both because they built up to the climax pretty well, and because it makes sense in the context of this being a grand finale to the Infinity Arc as a whole.

@Th3solution Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was always a fine movie. Not quite the classic that Raiders of the Lost Ark is, but I like it more than some of the other sequels. People look fondly on the past and are often overly-critical of follow-ups to beloved classic franchises. Not that the Shia Le Beouf casting helped them out at all.

@Ralizah Was it you that said, (not exact words) "Mark my words, Endgame is gonna be bad?"lol

why do all the Russo Brothers Marvel films turn into a chaotic mess where hordes of CGI things run at each-other by the end

It just looks silly and cartoonish, like something out of a video game

Don't think both Winter Soldier and Civil War had that.

It's a comic book movie with characters doing amazing and spectacular things. Can't do it without the use of CGI. And to be fair the The Lord of the Rings and maybe even (I remember correctly) a few of the Star Wars movies had this too.