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?????
WW84 was just bad as others have stated. I had some hopes for it since I actually enjoyed WW minus the studio forced CGI crapfest that was the final fight and I haven't enjoyed much of the new DC besides Shazam. The only thing I actually enjoyed was the end credits scene. Very disappointing as I thought maybe DC was starting to get stuff right. I do have some hope for Suicide Squad thanks to James Gunn.
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I also watched Soul and will give that 4/5. Not as good as Inside Out in my opinion but a touching, thought provoking Pixar movie. The soundtrack is killer. It boggles my mind that some people are complaining about this movie but I won't discuss that here as it would be spoilerish.
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4 people in my family watched it Xmas day, I was in another room watching sports. The general consensus from people who REALLY wanted it to be good was that it was bloviated, (at least 30 minutes too long) and for the large part fucked up. They all hope Godot moves onto something more suited to her quite good acting chops.
News of the World. Tom Hanks doing what he is good at. The good guy that we always cheer for. Very good movie, about the middle of the pack in his stuff. Worth seeing and enjoyable.
4/5
Wish List:
Any of the following flatsigned or inscribed-
It, Shining, Salem’s Lot, Mr. Mercedes, The Stand
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Rewatched "First Reformed" last night. What a divine movie. 6/6 on the RFSRS.
WW1984 - I will put it out there for all to attack. I really, really, really, liked this sequel. Obviously not as good as the first one, but a very enjoyable time out at the theater was had by all. Our local theater rents out its large theater, so my wife, my two teenage daughters, and myself had the whole theater to ourselves - a great XMAS gift for the family. This was our first movie in a theater since the pandemic began. I just don't get where all the vitriol is coming from on this one. We all enjoyed it immensely. 8/10 - so go ahead, let the attacks begin.
I appreciate the martyrdom lol, but honestly it's not that difficult to grasp. Myself and others have already covered it itt: a major step down from the first film. It rang hollow in comparison. Sloppy writing (everything regarding Chris Pine's return was pandering, especially the way he's reintroduced into the film), poorly written villains, a long run time that doesn't nearly fill its time with meaningful moments.
To top it all off, the film is just boring. We went from the emotional stakes of WW1 and the literal God of War as Diana's adversaries to a hammy villain with bad prosthetic that says things like "your father is a loser guy" and a nerdy geologist whose ultimate wish is to be an apex predator so we can see her cringy CGI-transformation.
I'm at the other end of the spectrum, I think - I can't comprehend how people could see this film and tell themselves that it's anything but painfully average at best. I think people so badly want this to be good escapism because of what's happened in 2020 that they overlook its many, many flaws.
I remember when my mom worked for Pizza Hut and all the commodity rented a movie theater for late night showings for all employees in the area, and their families. Me and my friend got to see Final Fantasy: The Spirit Within two days early and no one else watched it. It lived up to all the hype for us. Crazy that the film is only recently starting to look dated in its animation. Still a good film too.
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I watched Wonder Woman 1984 last night and really enjoyed it. I'm not a die-hard WW fan (though I did like the first movie), but I had a great time with it and thought it was a lot of fun. It was long, and even as I was watching some scenes I knew they should've been cut, but I was never bored. I thought it moved pretty quickly and I really appreciated that the climax was more grounded than the CGI climax of the first movie (the fight with Ares). Gadot, Pine, and Wiig all gave great performances, I thought the score was pretty great, and the end credit scene was pretty neat.
Unfortunately, WW1984 suffers from the same issue as many of the DC films: it's got a big villain problem. Max Lord was too over-the-top as the antagonist and the few emotional character insights given to him in the climax was too little too late. If they had instead focused entirely on Cheetah as the villain, it would've been way more successful...especially since Barbara didn't get nearly enough character development as she should've.
Miscellaneous: Steve Trevor's return (especially his first scene with Diana) wasn't handled as deftly as it could've and should've been. Setting the movie in 1984 was cool and fun but ultimately didn't offer much to the final product and seemed more of a marketing/nostalgia gimmick than story necessity. And I really wish the whole plot of the movie didn't revolve around a magic wishing stone. I understand the whole "evil god created it" thing, and it makes sense in the WW universe, but it just felt like lazy storytelling.
My criticisms might make it seem like I didn't enjoy it, but I really did. It was fun, escapist entertainment, especially since I don't think I've seen a good popcorn movie since before the pandemic. Overall, I think I'd give Wonder Woman 1984 a B.
A NEW GAME BEGINS
I'm totally with you, no idea why it's being received so lukewarmly. I loved the original, the No Man's Land scene made me cry so hard, I remember, but I cried multiple times during 84. It was much more emotional. And that mid-credits scene! The wink killed me, I was bawling my eyes out!
I saw some negative comments saying this was like the old Wonder Woman show with Lynda Carter, as if that's a bad thing! I think it was in part a conscious homage to that show, obviously!
I think a lot of the people having a negative reaction is the movie being not what they wanted it to be. Well, tough luck. Movies are what they are, and they should be judged on what they are, not what we would've wanted them to be. I'm really tired of this argument, actually. "They should've done this, why didn't they do this? The trailers promised something else...." The movie is the movie, there is no should. The trailers are irrelevant.
Wonder Woman made me cry too, but because of how terrible it was
Wonder Woman 1984 was painfully dry at times. It's not a complete turd like some are making it out to be, but as Fernando said, I find it hard to wrap my head around how anyone could consider it anything but average at best. Honestly, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I thought some of the CGI was really bad. Nobody is talking about it, but Wiig's character looked just as bad as the CGI in Cats.
I really think many people were so desperate to have a mainstream film to enjoy that they have blinders on.
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So, are we judging all sequels or just direct sequels. You seem to have a hodgepodge of examples. You can't have it both ways, if you want all of them, as in your Mission Impossible movies, then you have to take into account Godfather: Part 3. Still not buying your list as covering "many," which was the statement. Keep listing.
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Insomnia #459
ANY S/L #459
Idk if I'd say there are many direct sequels that are better than the original, but to Web's point there are more than a few sequels - regardless if direct or legacy- that surpassed the original. Some of them have been listed in the post above.
In any case, I'm hoping WW3 is a return to form. Luckily Geoff Johns has been fired as head of DCU and he won't be around to taint further films with his subpar writing. They really need to reload and figure things out because Diana/Gal deserve much better than this.
STOP!!!!!
DO NOT RENT/BUY "HONEST THIEF"!!!!
OMG!!! Lian Neeson should be ashamed that he agreed to star in this film. I suppose its a testament to gard times for Hollywood that it would even be given consideration for production. The Screenwriter, Allrich must have dashed this one off while sitting on the toilet. This movie has one of the dumbsest plots I have ever had the misfortune of viewing. The actors, and there are a few top line guys in it, must really need the money or the studio did anyway.
Spoiler:
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 just saw a film titled "Dark Waters", which is cureently running on, Showtime. It's a "based on atrue story" film about a lawyer and his firm that take on, Dupont over a chemical called "C-8" which is tegral in the manufacturing of, Teflon. I thought it was an execellent production with a star studded cast. It's also probably something you SHOULD watch given the wide spread use of Teflon. It's entertaining and very informative with great acting. I give it a "7" on the RF movie rating scale of "0-6" beers.
I know my wife and I are in the process of reviewing all our cooking pans and you probably should as well. Watch it if you can!!
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?????