Topic: The Movie Thread

@LN78 Yeah, I’m embarrassed to say that I actually enjoy the cheesy action slow-mo / suspended animation fight scenes with the panning the camera around to the sounds of testosterone fueled epic brass orchestral chords of overstated music, each hero perfectly placed and positioned in a stylized gesture displaying their power simultaneously in a prolonged still shot in the midst of a chaotic battle scene, colors exploding, wind expertly tossing the hair back, faces determinant, weapons ready, half the team caught in mid-air and the other half posed in perfect synergy to cover the whole screen, the entire battlefield accounted for in one simple snapshot dragged out so we can see every inch of our heroes as the music pounds and creates the adrenaline pumping through through our veins ....
Yeah, I have to admit that I fall for that. I think that stuff is targeted at me and all the 13 year old boys out there who think it’s really cool. But analytically, I know it’s kind of cheesy. 😅

@RogerRoger Yep but it was recorded from tv with ad breaks!!!!

I saw the live-action Aladdin in a theater while I was gone. And Captain Marvel.

Both were better than I was expecting. Although I feel like Captain Marvel mostly works because of all the skilled actors around Brie Larson, who is practically a non-entity here. It's pretty middle-of-the-road quality wise; like a slightly cheesy 90's sci-fi movie if it had an enormous budget. Amazing to think this pretty inoffensive sci-fi film inspired such a colossal amount of culture war drama.

I... actually really enjoyed Aladdin. Surprising, considering The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast were both bad-to-underwhelming. I mean, it obviously still struggles to live up to the classic 1992 original, but it translates to live-action surprisingly well. I guess my biggest criticisms would be that the actor who plays Jafar has none of the personality or malice of his animated counterpart, and the camera work is much less dynamic here than it is in the cartoon, especially during big songs and setpieces.

Will Smith's Genie gets a huge amount of rewriting to make the character feel more like one designed for Smith in the first place, which I was happy to see.

The more 'feminist' spin on Princess Jasmine works pretty well, too. The actress is likeable, and I think they probably actually did a better job of integrating her into the main plot of the film. Didn't care for the added songs they gave her, though; they're competent productions, but they're far less catchy or engaging than any of the other songs imported from the original.

Probably my third favorite Disney remake after Cinderella and The Jungle Book.

Glad you enjoyed your time with "With A Vengeance" this time around @RogerRoger! Shame Al wasn't brought back... I quite liked him in the previous two.

Though I agree the supporting cast in this one is a touch more memorable and likeable.

Haven't seen the alternate ending... heard about it though Bazooka with the sights filed off right?

Also I know you're not terribly into Rock from the guitar hero metallica talk way back when in the ps3 ranking topic... But watch the music video (or rather just listen) to "Die Hard" by GuyzNite on the Die Hard 4.0/Live Free or Die Hard Blu Ray if you can stomach it (and more importantly if it's even on there lol)

I saw it on the DVD copy I have of 4 and... It's so dumb. Like the lyrics are so bad it's kinda good. And seeing as it's about the four Die Hards... Just... yeah.

It has to be heard to be believed 😂

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Generally I do love Tarantino movies, but dislike movies based on Hollywood stars, so I was unsure how much I'd like it. Thankfully it was an enjoyable watch.

The story was decent enough. Where the movie really shone with its production values, particularly with the excellent acting.

National Lampoon's European Vacation (Blu-Ray) - The first of the Vacation sequels, that sees the accident prone Griswald family bumble through a game show to win a "deluxe" European vacation.

Ultimately it tries too hard to one up the first film (many of the scenarios feel a bit too zany & unorganic), and Audrey's film long whine about her Stateside boyfriend, Zack, never goes anywhere & is never funny, but the film as a whole still has it's funny moments (such as when Clark fumbles his way through a traditional German dance & turns it into a brawl) & is overall a fun time (still better than 98% of whatever modern Hollywood is churning out in terms of comedy). I will say I enjoyed the overall world travelling theme of it as well.

Looks like Will Smith's streak of bad movies continues. Gemini Man not getting good reviews on both Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes.

Godzilla 1984 "the Return of Godzilla" (Blu-Ray) - An attempt to get the franchise back on track after the sillier fare of the 60's & 70's, it positions itself as a direct sequel to the 1954 original, with a more serious tone that references the nuclear danger posed by the cold war between the US & Soviet Union. This was the uncut Japanese original, and not the version first brought over to the west.

My brother used to have this on VHS (the Americanized version, I'm sure), so it's one I watched quite a bit as a kid, but it's been years since I've seen it so it was practically brand new to me (the only things I remembered about it were Godzilla's temporary defeat due to the Cadmium weapons, and being forced into a volcano at the end). I have to say I really enjoyed it. The story had just enough oomph to it to keep me intetested in that angle of it, and while the effects are showing their age, you can tell they put a lot more care & effort into the whole thing compared to the usual "Godzilla VS [insert monster here]" flicks of the time (I actually was pretty impressed with the practical effects work when Godzilla fought the Super X).

Watched a fair bunch of stuff over the weekend.

Inspired by another thread, thought I'd give Spider-Man: Far From Home a go.
It did very little but confirm my dislike of MCU Spider-Man. It all looks fine, Mysterio was well realised, but it's still just all 'Tony Stark' this, and 'next Iron-Man' that.

The overarching narrative that for 'reasons' Tony Stark has actually decided that 16 year old Peter Parker is absolutely the best choice to lead the Avengers/replace Iron-Man makes very little sense in-universe. We've certainly never seen MCU Spider-Man do anything particularly worthy of getting the keys to the castle. It's a bit of character positioning that steers the film in to a never ending sense of being an origin film, despite this being MCU Spidey's 5th outing.

All that considered - I won't even start on the ending (not enough eye rolls in the world to appreciate the narrative disconnect) - other than that during a particular scene, something hit me like a ton of bricks; it's something that with hindsight, is possibly part-responsible for that underlying 'meh' feeling MCU Spidey gives me - the first time that we really see him casually/joyfully webswinging through NYC. It's really brief - but I think even Homecoming didn't particularly make much of a show of Spidey just having fun being Spidey.

Anyway. Didn't like it, it didn't do much to add to or improve the MCU Spidey characterisation, or any of the other characters involved really.

Also saw Midsommar - which was a very slow burn, but quite satisfying to watch.

And new Hellboy - which is the epitome of 'meh' film making and definitely not as good as the 2004 film.

@RogerRoger That would be easier to swallow if it was a 'coming in to powers' sort of thing - but it just feels forced and hobbling to what could've been a really good film. It feels like a BvS move actually.

It's worth watching just the for Mysterio stuff, and would've been really something if it was Spidey, in New York, fighting Myserio.

I can see it being a Sony/Disney direction though - it feels very 'we need to keep the Avengers $$$ coming in'. Probably more a Disney decision than a Sony one. Spider-Man is top tier, ready-made, and massively popular. Stick him front of the Avengers rather than try to further develop another c-lister makes financial sense. Since the obvious options are off the table and they clearly (my cynicism is showing) have no actual faith in having better developed, experienced characters who have been team leaders in the comics like Falcon or Black Panther lead the team.

I think the Spidey deal has been sorted now.

@RogerRoger I agree on Spidey's positioning. Unfortunately he really hasn't had any growth over the course of his arc apart from being given better technology that warrants a leadership position within universe. As I say, every appearance so far has been hitting the same 'coming of age' beats that should really have been dealt with in Homecoming.

@LN78 I don't think I know ANY Trek fans who regard TFF as the best one (which is The Undiscovered Country).

Ha ha glad you enjoyed both the film and the song too @RogerRoger .

The line "The greatest car explosions by far, they sure look sweet man" is probably my favourite to show just how amazingly bad the song is 😂

@LN78 @RogerRoger Lol, well if it’s any consolation, as an American reading Push Square daily I have picked up some British idioms, so it goes both ways. I’m tempted to say that I’m “chuffed” about something in my regular conversation but I know I’ll likely be met with very quizzical looks at the least, or at worst - a report to HR for inappropriately vulgar language in the workplace. 😅

Actually, on the subject of American vs. British versions of English (and to keep it slightly on topic) — I actually pondered the following question in my mind after my recent rewatch of Spider-Man Homecoming:
Which is easier - a British actor playing a role requiring an American accent (ex. Tom Holland), or and American actor trying to do a British accent (Angelina Jolie, Peter Dinklage)? Or we could throw in the occasional Australian actors also (Hugh Jackman).
For me listening through American ears, I think Dinklage’s British accent sounds pretty awful. Johnny Depp sounds more serviceable, although still not quite right. Jackman sounds pretty spot on to me, as does Holland. So I think the UK actors acclimate to American accents better, but I don’t know.

@RogerRoger Well, see — that’s how I know you aren’t truly Americanized yet. You should have been choking on your Root Beer. 😜

@Th3solution I think it just comes down to the actor most of the time. Some are great at it, some not so much.

The more puzzling thing is how they continue getting cast as being from whatever region while being unrelentingly terrible at the accent.

I quite Dinklage in GoT - though the majority of the voice-craft can be easily dismissed thanks to the fantasy setting. Depp is somewhat passable but never gets beyond caricature for the majority of his roles that require it. I think if needed to do a any particularly regional British accent, the majority would struggle without extensive rehearsal as most seem to be varying scales of RP in one way or another.

I recently finished watching Preacher, and have to say that Dominic Cooper and Ruth Nega (to me) sound pretty fantastic for a Brit and a sort of Brit!

@LN78 Haha, very true. We give more leeway sometimes to the famous and established actors.

Sometimes the actor’s accent comes out sounding like some hybrid version that resembles a colloquial no man’s land (see Viggo Mortensen, or as we noted earlier - Elizabeth Olsen’s weird attempts at a Russian accent). I would think big budget movies would employ a native speaker as an on-set consultant for whatever accent is being attempted.

Picked up the John Wick boxset and boy are those great action flicks!

#Disclaimer: yet to watch the 3rd one but loved 1 & 2.

@KALofKRYPTON And on the flipside Karl Urban's and Simon Pegg's accents are terrible in The Boys!

@Th3solution not just big stars, I reckon it's still mostly a 'face fits' game.
I submit for evidence: Charlie Hunnam. He was terrible when he started, he was terrible in his bigger 'breakout' roles and remains a thoroughly terrible actor who's awful with accent work. Yet, work keeps piling in for him. 😂