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28 in 23 (?)!!!!
63 in '23!!!!!!!!!!
My Collection: https://www.thedarktower.org/palaver...ion-Merlin1958
The Houston Astros cheated Major League Baseball from 2017-18!!!! Is that how we teach our kids to play the game now?????
I was just mentioning it because you said the MCU has continuity and story, since Spider-Man is part of the MCU, then there's hope that we will get the same level of filmmaking. That's all I'm saying.
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More than Wonder Woman? No way, it was a fun movie, basically a teen comedy with superheros, but none of the emotional pathos of Wonder Woman.
Michael "I'm Batman" Keaton was really good, though.
HELP ME FIND
Insomnia #459
ANY S/L #459
Was bored and was searching for something real, as in ghost like or horror documentaries. I found "Room 237" from 2012. If you area King fan a definite must see. I will say I was always skeptical of Apollo 11 and why room 217 became 237. Now I know that Kubrick knows it all?! 9/10.
Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality. Edgar Allan Poe
The Number 23 with Jim Carrey. Interesting movie and enjoyable. There was something there that I just liked. It was a little clunky in places but overall a fun movie. 7/10
Mrs. Miniver a 1942 WW2 war film which centered around a small coastal village in England. Typical black and white movie however for me there was a certain charm to it. 8/10
LA 92 is absolutely horrifying and one of the most disturbing documentaries I've seen. The saddest part is that it's been 25 years since but feels like it could all happen again tomorrow.
(4/4)
I really enjoyed Spider-man, but I have to say I don't think it was better than Wonder Woman. Critics just tend to score Marvel movies higher than the DC ones. While I really think they did Spider-man right, it didn't really feel new. I am glad they didn't really tell an origin story though.
On a side note, they actually screwed up their own timeline with this movie. They basically got the amount of time between when The Avengers takes place and when this movie takes place wrong, unless they are planning to rewrite their dates again.
War for the Planet of the Apes
Fucking loved this movie. Once again, the franchise puts out another film that's just a little bit smarter and multi-layered than your average blockbuster. What was interesting about this film was that it wasn't a big, epic sci-fi war movie. There aren't really many battles in this film. Instead, it aims to catch the other sides of war. Not just the ongoing fighting, but the running, the lives lost, and the sheer personal cost of it. With the first two movies, in addition to the apes, there was also a clear human protagonist (played by James Franco in Rise, and Jason Clarke in Dawn). What was amazing was how there are really none of those in this film. It completely focuses on the apes as protagonists and the humans as antagonists in this one. It isn't quite that simple, but it's close. Woody Harrelson gives an amazing performance as the Colonel. Insane, but also, his desperate motivations are more than understandable.
As a fan of the franchise, I also loved all of the little nods and call forwards. They were handled nicely too, being a very natural part of the plot. But more than that, it's also a great sequel to Rise and Dawn, and in fact resolves a few things from those movies. While I've heard that a fourth film is currently planned - and there's certainly enough in the world of these movies to justify that - if they decided to end things here, then this works perfectly as an end to the trilogy. The Planet of the Apes revival has been one of the best surprises of the decade, and unless Star Wars beats it with the two sequels, it could be my favourite blockbuster trilogy of the decade. 5/5
Never be cruel and never be cowardly. And if you ever are, always make amends.
You are a walking talking Doctor Who encyclopedia to me. - Melike
Great review, James! 100% agree. It saves me some time because you echoed a lot of the stuff I wanted to say.
The 3 recent Apes films are easily among the best trilogies in recent memory, as well as one of the best sequels of all-time. There was such care taken in every aspect of each film. I'm really excited to follow Reeves as a director. He could have easily made the final two films as non-stop action, but he didn't.
As a fan of the entire franchise, yes, even the shitty original sequels, I really appreciated the little easter eggs. The only one that kind of annoys me is giving the little girl the nameSpoiler:
I think the other amazing thing they were able to do with the last 3 films, especially the last 2, was make us root for the Apes. I don't know about you guys, but I'm a human. We really should be rooting for humans, otherwise we are rooting for the demise of our own species. Of course, the Apes were the primary protagonists in the original film. Turning that upside down was really interesting for me.
Lastly, Andy Serkis needs a shoutout. The work he's done in these films needs to be recognized.Spoiler:Without the superior work of Serkis, there's no way that scene is remotely as powerful. You just completely forget he's not real.
I really need to see this one again.
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Spider-Man: Homecoming
3.5/5
While I thought Tom Holland was great, as well as Michael Keaton, I wasn't blown away by the movie. Cool gadgets and special effects don't make up for this being a low-stakes high school superhero movie.
"We've gotta stop the Vulture! Why? Well, because he's ummm, a bad guy and he has a side hustle that hurts absolutely no one!"
Not enough action, too many throwaway characters, the absolute WORST bully in the history of film, and to top it all off, Gwyneth Paltrow gets like ... fourth billing!? Fuck that.
I pretty much agree with everything on here. I was torn because while I liked the fact that this was a more intimate superhero film where the villain wasn't out to destroy the universe, it felt so low stakes. This was compounded by the feeling that Keaton's Vulture coulda been ripped apart by any member of the Avengers squad in seconds.
The Paltrow reveal was designed that way on purpose though. It was a little meta since the actress was not sure if she was willing to come back into the MCU fold.
A few standouts for Spider-Man though:
Spoiler:
I felt like Spider-Man's powers come mostly from the suit made by Iron Man (not a spoiler, it's in the trailers), so I wasn't a fan of that. He even says "I'm nothing without that suit"...
Oh, and two more things:
Loved the Peter Parker film at the beginning.
Loved that this wasn't an origin story. Well, rather, glad we didn't see him get bit by a spider.
Thanks. I hope you enjoy War as much as I did.
Yeah, after how shit the Tim Burton remake was, I'm sure a lot of us were skeptical that Rise was going to be any good. But it really surprised me. It captured a lot of the best of the original films, and was able to give them a fresh spin. Two things are especially impressive about Rise: one, that it didn't put all its eggs in one basket and tried to explain everything about how the Apes rose in one film. In fact, it told only a tiny part of the story. True, that's partially because 20th Century Fox clearly wanted multiple movies once more, but I'm glad they didn't simply do that by remaking the original film or anything like that.
The second thing that's impressive about Rise? In my opinion, it's actually the weakest of the new trilogy. Not in the same way that Phantom Menace was. Just that it's only the weakest by comparison to its sequels.
Thanks, Mike. Agreed on most points. However, I am wondering about one thing:
Spoiler:I'm curious to see what will happen if they make more movies. Even if additional sequels turn out to be shit, at least these 3 movies form such a brilliant trilogy in their own right.Never be cruel and never be cowardly. And if you ever are, always make amends.
You are a walking talking Doctor Who encyclopedia to me. - Melike