[demonrail666]

 

Godzilla

Don't really understand the bad reviews this got. It doesn't quite work as a full-on blockbuster but it's a 1000x better than the Roland Emmerich one - which isn't saying much, admittedly.

 

Amazing Spiderman

I hated Andrew Garfield with a passion. Not that it would've been much better without him. God knows why they decided to reboot it so soon.

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by Severian

Aw, what?! What the hell? Are you on Thorazine? I strongly disagree with you on this one. Maybe the second season qualifies as "over-acted" at times, but the first season is pure gold. It makes Silence of the Lambs seem like an actual film about silent lambs. I was still on the anti-Mcconaughey bandwagon until I watched it. I'd hated the guy for 15 years or more, even though he'd dished out increasingly good performances in recent films by that point. But Jesus, one episode in and I was a changed man.

I loved the 1st half of series one but I thought it lost its way a bit in the 2nd half, with the second investigation. Reggie Ledoux was such a terrifying figure. Even though some of the people in the 2nd half did worse things, Ledoux was genuinely scary. That bit when you 1st see him at the farm, pure depressing evil. Hannibal Lector doesn't even come close, and you're just watching Ledoux walking in the distance.

And that scene with the prostitute where she talks about a lot of people just disappearing. It's like the whole place is just pure hell.

I'd probably like the 2nd half of season 1 more if those 1st few episodes weren't so mindblowing.

 

 

[evollove]

I bailed after three episodes of season 2.

But I think the first season is so powerful because we have no idea what's going on through the first half. One of them might even be the killer. It's confusing yet enthralling. Then things come together and happen to result in a lousy ending.

----

I've seen every Woody Allen movie, most multiple times, but I really don't want to watch Cafe Society. Like, at all. Mostly because of Kristen Stewart. Yet I must have completion. Downloading now. Sigh.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

I loved the 1st half of series one but I thought it lost its way a bit in the 2nd half, with the second investigation. Reggie Ledoux was such a terrifying figure. Even though some of the people in the 2nd half did worse things, Ledoux was genuinely scary. That bit when you 1st see him at the farm, pure depressing evil. Hannibal Lector doesn't even come close, and you're just watching Ledoux walking in the distance.

And that scene with the prostitute where she talks about a lot of people just disappearing. It's like the whole place is just pure hell.

I'd probably like the 2nd half of season 1 more if those 1st few episodes weren't so mindblowing.

 

 

I agree to some extent. The first half was horrifying, and it was hard to imagine how they were going amp up that faceless terror factor again.

For me, it clicked when the "Yellow King" imagery returned, and Rust realized (I forget what the context was, but it was after talking to one of the surviving victims) that the "worst of them" was still out there.

And then of course realizing that he'd had a conversation with the dude early on. That was pretty fucked up.

I've seen other references to "Yellow Kings" in horror and fantasy literature. There was actually a book called the Yellow King that came out last year... never read it, but it seems like there's an actual urban legend surrounding that character. If there is, I'm ignorant of it, or too stupid to connect it to the mythical being it's supposed to represent, but I want to learn more about it because it's a powerful and scary fucking image.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by evollove

I bailed after three episodes of season 2.

But I think the first season is so powerful because we have no idea what's going on through the first half. One of them might even be the killer. It's confusing yet enthralling. Then things come together and happen to result in a lousy ending .

I thought the ending was a bit weak at first as well, but I think there's more going on than immediately clear. I think we're supposed to question the reality of the "happy" ending that the show gives us. I did. I found myself wondering if the last few minutes weren't just a hallucination as Rust was bleeding out on the floor of the cave.

Jesus though, that scene about ½ way through, when Rust inflitrates that Louisiana biker gang and the SWAT team comes torching it's way through that dilapidated neighborhood? DAMN. Some of the best filming I've ever seen. I don't remember if that's all a single shot, but I believe it is, and it puts Scorcese to shame. Goddamn thing should have won an Emmy for that 20 minutes alone. And it had virtually nothing to do with the greater story. Just a little detour into the fucking war zone in the middle of hell. Stunning really.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

 

Amazing Spiderman

I hated Andrew Garfield with a passion. Not that it would've been much better without him. God knows why they decided to reboot it so soon.

They wanted to "Batman Begins" it up. That's why they rebooted it. Didn't work.

It was MUCH better than the Sam Raimi abortions, all of which are simply horrid. But it wasn't good enough.

I hear the sequel is just terrible. I actually bought it the other day. Haven't seen it or had any interest in doing so, but it was like $3.99 so I said fuck it.

For what it's worth, I think the version we saw in Civil War is much better than either the previous versions. Not sure the solo film is going to be any good (what the fuck kind of a name is Homecoming anyway?) but I'm cautiously optimistic, and I have nothing invested in the character so it ultimately won't matter either way.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

inb4 eeeeeeeeeveryone's favorite scene

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

!@#$%, that scene is where my love for the Welsh ladies began, grew, erupted, and then settled into a manageable chubby.

Originally Posted by Severian

This is literally the only thing I remember from this film.

 

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by Severian

I agree to some extent. The first half was horrifying, and it was hard to imagine how they were going amp up that faceless terror factor again.

For me, it clicked when the "Yellow King" imagery returned, and Rust realized (I forget what the context was, but it was after talking to one of the surviving victims) that the "worst of them" was still out there.

And then of course realizing that he'd had a conversation with the dude early on. That was pretty fucked up.

I've seen other references to "Yellow Kings" in horror and fantasy literature. There was actually a book called the Yellow King that came out last year... never read it, but it seems like there's an actual urban legend surrounding that character. If there is, I'm ignorant of it, or too stupid to connect it to the mythical being it's supposed to represent, but I want to learn more about it because it's a powerful and scary fucking image.

The Yellow King references are to Robert Chambers book, The King in Yellow, but it's a bit of a red herring. It takes the names yellow king and carcosa from the book but that's about it. The real influence was another horror writer, Thomas Ligotti, who's ideas in Conspiracy Against the Human Rust seem to have inspired the philosophical side of the Rust character, to the extent that some people have accused the TD creators of plagiarism.

RUST: "Nature created an aspect of nature separate from itself. We are creatures that should not exist by natural law."

LIGOTTI: "We know that nature has veered into the supernatural by fabricating a creature that cannot and should not exist by natural law."

And so on.

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by Severian

They wanted to "Batman Begins" it up. That's why they rebooted it. Didn't work.

It was MUCH better than the Sam Raimi abortions, all of which are simply horrid. But it wasn't good enough.

I hear the sequel is just terrible. I actually bought it the other day. Haven't seen it or had any interest in doing so, but it was like $3.99 so I said fuck it.

For what it's worth, I think the version we saw in Civil War is much better than either the previous versions. Not sure the solo film is going to be any good (what the fuck kind of a name is Homecoming anyway?) but I'm cautiously optimistic, and I have nothing invested in the character so it ultimately won't matter either way.

I love the 1st two Raimi ones. The 3rd one is a mess but the 1st two got it just right for me, whereas Amazing's more lo-fi, edgy feel was all wrong for me. And Rhys Ifans Lizard was just rubbish.

I haven't seen CW but I'm just glad someone's replaced Andrew Garfield.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

The Yellow King references are to Robert Chambers book, The King in Yellow, but it's a bit of a red herring. It takes the names yellow king and carcosa from the book but that's about it. The real influence was another horror writer, Thomas Ligotti, who's ideas in Conspiracy Against the Human Rust seem to have inspired the philosophical side of the Rust character, to the extent that some people have accused the TD creators of plagiarism.

RUST: "Nature created an aspect of nature separate from itself. We are creatures that should not exist by natural law."

LIGOTTI: "We know that nature has veered into the supernatural by fabricating a creature that cannot and should not exist by natural law."

And so on.

Interesting. Thanks for this. I will look into this Ligotti dude right away.

Really, really great show though. I don't even want to call it a show. That first season should have been its own deal. A one-off miniseries. Season 2 had a lot of great elements, but season 1 is up there with Breaking Bad, LOST and even Twin Peaks.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

True Detective, 1st season was very good gothic horror. The second season, I liked a lot, but my wife did n ot. she found it TOO bleak. I thought it was a cool season. Enjoyed it much more than the critics who seemed to wish that Macconoughhay was back so they could slobber over him again....

I had the same experience. My girlfriend did NOT like that ending (specifically what goes down in the desert). Somehow, despite loving the first season, the last episode of TD season 2, like, disturbed her. Deeply. She was just not ok with it. I had to really do some real persuading to get her to even finish the episode with me. Something about the connection she had with the character and how things shook out for him just really threw her off.

Trying to honor Slambang by not posting spoilers, but hopefully you get where I'm coming from.

For me, the secon season's ending can really be summed up by the series' tag line, "You get the life you deserve" (or something). I think it applies to literally every major character, and there's a very old-school moral reason why each character ended up where they did.

More on that later maybe.

But yeah, he critics were fucked on season 2. It was quite good. It suffered from Joker syndrome. That's all. Mcconaughey being the Heath Ledger here.

I've heard that the show's on hold. Effectively cancelled, though Mcconaughey says he'd entertain the possibility of playing Rustin Cole again. Probably won't happen, though I think it would be interesting to uncover his deep cover pre-TD days.

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by Severian

Mcconaughey says he'd entertain the possibility of playing Rustin Cole again. Probably won't happen, though I think it would be interesting to uncover his deep cover pre-TD days.

That'd be great. And I'm sure HBO must've at least thought about the possibility of having a show more focused on Rust, but keeping the general TD feel. I for one would be hooked.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

That'd be great. And I'm sure HBO must've at least thought about the possibility of having a show more focused on Rust, but keeping the general TD feel. I for one would be hooked.

As would I. I really liked his character. He was SO lost, but laser focused. Actually a lot of his ramblings reminded me of the way I thought about humanity at the time. I was in a pretty shit place. But the character was tremendous. And it kinda took a bit of the bite out of him to see him later on, with the Duck Dynasty hair and beard. I wouldn't mind seeing more of that self destructive machine of a man we saw in the first half.

Reminded me a bit of Batman. But then, I think about Batman like, a lot.

[LifeDistortion]

I didn't hate True Detective season 2, but it was never going to top season 1. Some say it was perhaps the perfect season of television ever. I think they need to leave season one alone, don't do a sequel, prequel or anything connected to it. They'll just risk ruining the characters.

[demonrail666]

 

Crash

I'm not always sure what it's trying to say but it always blows me away when I watch it.

 

Man of Steel

How can someone make Superman boring?

[Severian]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

 

Man of Steel

How can someone make Superman boring?

Wow. I really don't get this. I thought it was as good a Superman film as anyone could possibly expect. And I really like Superman.

It lifted directly from some excellent DC source material which positioned Clark as a young, somewhat angsty reporter who traveled the world looking to right wrongs and do the whole "Justice" thing in a human way, before some incident in Africa forced him to make himself known to the world. I forget when the arc ran. Shortly before or shortly after New 52, I think.

Anyway, Man of Steel seemed like it was more of a Chris Nolan movie than a Snyder one. The actors were chosen very well, the plot was, like, a plot, and the slow-motion sequences were minimal and actually leant themselves to the story. I thought I was going to HATE IT. I ended up loving every moment of it.

I've only seen it once since that first time, after I got the BluRay/DVD. And I watched it solo that time (my girlfriend was with me in the theatre, which is good - kept me from crying more). Maybe I'd think it was boring if I watched it now, but I doubt it.

I was SO ready to hate this movie. When I learned that Snyder was "directing," I felt like a part of me had died. How could the guy who did Watchmen be expected to understand or give a shit about the real heart of the Superman story? But with help from Chris and Jonathan Nolan, and Geoff John's and whoever the hell else, he made it work. I've been waiting my entire life to see Superman actually do some Superman stuff in a move. To see Krypton and to have Supes fight an opponent with whom he was equally matched. It was everything I wanted it to be.

I loved those scenes of flight practice in the Arctic. Loved the Father/"Father" story. Kevin Costner never was a favorite of mine, but he was an excellent choice for the role. Too bad he bit the shit.

I'm sorry you found it boring. For me, it was possibly the best Superman film ever. Certainly better than 5, 4, 3 or BvS. Better in fact than any comic book adaptation I can think of except for Nolan's films.

[Severian]

Speaking of comic book adaptations, upon recent reflection, I've been forced to admit that Marvel has DC's head in a vice with regard to TV. I used to think that Marvel only had DC over a barrel with the films, mostly because there have only been 4 good DC films in the modern era, and everyone but me hates one (Man of Steel), and the other three (Dark Knight Trilogy) are not part of the "extended universe."

But after really enjoying all 3 seasons of Agents of SHIELD (really quite a smart show once it gets going, especially the first and third seasons), and then comparing it to THIS goddamn atrocity, I've gotta say Marvel's kicking ass all over the map, in everything but actual comic books.

The offending atrocity:

 

Sweet seed of Satan this is terrible! I know Arrow is terrible too now — the first season was a fun little ride, but now it's jus shit — but sometimes Flash nails it. This thing is like pro-wrestling bad. Just stealing shamelessly from Doctor Who and somehow making it a DC thing. Yikes. What's up with "White Canary's" suite? It didn't get all messed up in some battle, nor did her hair become slicked back like an '80s lady of the night... No, it came like that!

Mumble.

[!@#$%!]

re:superman etc, i've made clear that i'm not crazy about superheros but i'll watch some movies some times. i grew up watching some of that shit and i'm not going to completely abjure it.

the thing with superman is-- how can that earnest lumbering beast not ever be boring? luthor was always the interesting one. the old movies (late 70s/early 80s?) were "okay", good for the special effects, but not great or something, just big and spectacular. was luthor gene hackman? he was good and manic.

the new superman barely kept me awake. is it amy adams in the north pole? i can't even remember what happened.

the nolan batmans i thought were as great as superhero movies come. they're not for me the best movies ever in any sort of contest, but they were enthralling and good spectacle and great effects, and christian bale and the dead guy are good actors. the supermodel heated up the last one. 3 was the right number though. quit while you're ahead. then rest on your laurels.

my favorite superhero movie of recent times was the joss whedon one-- avengers. because he found a way to both let you care about these creatures but also poke fun at some of the absurdities and keep you laughing to avoid an overly earnest plodding serious business.

the first thor was pretty good--filmed near here actually. the ones that followed-- too much bullshit.

the first hellboy was AWESOME. the second one was good but suffers a little in recollection.

x-men 1 was good, x-men 2 was GREAT, then i lost track with all the BS.

matrix 1 was GREAT, then it nosedived

iron man was pretty great the first two, thanks especially to the actor guy, and great effects. now i've lost track of how many movies they'd made about him or why should i care, it becomes too predictable.

the spiderman reboots are not very good but toby mcguire was SO FUCKING ANNOYING it was necessary for me to have a different face. at least the new kid is not as annoying, but so many versions of the same story in so quick succession can muddle one's brain. one could argue that a 10-year old won't know this, but 10 year olds watch not-so-old movies at home too.

ang lee's hulk was awful. the new hulk is okay. but like pepper, best not abused.

heroes, the tv show, started pretty enthralling, then it descended into stupidity. other shit cropped up: alphas, with the fart-smelling superpower. and a derivation of that derivation, ad nauseam.

my overall assessment i suppose would be that these movies & tv tie-ins can actually be pretty great entertainment, but when they get milked over and over until that tit dries up and they give you sugar water instead of milk and you're supposed to keep track of the whole "universe" even with inferior tv shows like agents of S.H.I.T.,, the overall thing degrades and one starts getting allergic reactions to the whole premise.

the movie industry needs a new fashion, like-- cannibal holocausts or something. well, no, we have like 10 types of zombies every year! something else. i don't know.

LAST: PLEASE NO MORE TIME TRAVELING OR RESURRECTION BULLSHIT. what makes drama dramatic is the possibility of death. when you can kill someone one day and bring them up the following week because "timelines!" is when i stop giving 2 shits. i believe that's what turned "heroes'" into a pointless shitshow, among other things. if death isn't final, it isn't death at all.

[Severian]

I grew up with the early Superman movies. Loved them. Even III and IV at the time.

The Dark Knight movies were all great for spectacle, all had solid acting and excellent cinematography and special effects. I feel like Batman Begins and Dark Knight Rises were PERFECT "comic book" movies, and great movies in general, but I think the Dark Knight -- the one with the dead guy -- was a genuinely great film. I've seen it probably ten times and I never get bored. I think of it as a Copppla-esque tour de force. Closer to Godfather than to your average "comic book" film. It just went beyond ally that, and the result was something truly special.

Heroes... Jesus I forget what that was even about. Yeah, started strong, then everyone had powers and there were 100 characters and bleeeehhhh..

Jessica Jones and Daredevil are great. Daredevil is of course just Dark Knight light ... but it holds up.

I too am very sick of Superhero movies though.

I am wholly against the idea of a Justice League film. Gonna be a Fucking disaster. Those characters aren't believable on screen in a shared world. Marvel's good with the team stuff. DC is about iconic individual characters. If all the big DC cats could have a trilogy like Nolan's, with zero overlap, that would be just great. Won't happen though. Not in this era of oversaturation anyway.

I think Man of Steel was well received enough that a really well done sequel (like Captain America's Winter Soldier... remember that first Cap film got pretty slammed by critics) could have made for a good trilogy. But then BvS had to happen, and now everything's all fucked. That was a fun flick, liked it well enough, but it was also kind of an abomination. Should never have been.

[demonrail666]

I agree about Kevin Costner. Generally not a big fan but he was the best thing about it for me. I just thought it wanted to be so much more than it was. It played at epic but never really delivered it: the same thing that was wrong with Watchmen (besides everything else that was wrong with Watchmen.) The film just draaags. I ultimately think the problem is Snyder.
Nolan's Batmans are arthouse blockbusters, where the sense of the epic never seems strained or pretentious. There aren't many superheroes beside Batman that can carry that amount of weight, but Superman is definitely one of them, which only makes MoS all the more frustrating. Dr Manhattan's another one who could handle the real epic treatment. It won't happen but I'd love to see Nolan do something around him.

BvS was a disaster but I did think Wonder Woman came out of it pretty well.