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Post by Mod City on Mar 7, 2018 17:19:47 GMT -5
Thor: Ragnarok
Watched this the other night and really enjoyed it. It did get a little overly-comedic in some places, but hey, these are comic book movies. And really, Hemsworth and Hiddleston are really good together when they're playing it up for yucks.
Tonally, it looked like they took a play out of the Guardians of the Galaxy playbook, but it had a nice feel to it. I loved the opening theme, it had a very 70s style thing going on.
There were a few things story-wise I wasn't wild about. The role of the Warriors Three was not really what I was hoping for, but again, this is a comic book flick. You never know what could happen in the next movie. Or movies.
One thing I really liked was Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie. I didn't know who she was, and just judging by the trailers, I assumed she was from New Zealand, Australia or maybe the UK. Low and behold, she was born in Los Angeles. She was a lot of fun playing something we don't see much in Marvel movies - a character with a clear flaw, in this case alcoholism. That's tough to do well, but she was really good at it. The race swap didn't make me bat an eye, the only problem I could see in casting her is that she's only 5 foot 4 inches tall. I always pictured Valkyrie being much taller than that, close to Thor in height, but whatever. She had enough charm to carry half the movie.
Overall, it was fun. I still need to see Black Panther. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
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Torgo
Moderator Emeritus
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Post by Torgo on Mar 7, 2018 21:55:26 GMT -5
If you like Tessa check out Westworld on HBO. She has a fair role toward the end of season one that's quite different than her Thor role.
She also shows even more diversity in Annihilation, where she's the tech girl, which is completely different than either.
In the last year alone this woman has shown insane range in the types of roles she plays.
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Post by Mod City on Mar 8, 2018 12:40:57 GMT -5
In the last year alone this woman has shown insane range in the types of roles she plays. I didn't realize it until I looked her up, but she's in Creed, too, which I really liked. But I honestly didn't realize it was the same actor until reading it. She's really good.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Mar 8, 2018 13:33:18 GMT -5
Oh yeah, I forgot she was in Creed. I was actually thinking about watching that movie again the other day, but I've been holding out so I can get my hands on the 4K.
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Post by denofearth on Mar 10, 2018 15:26:05 GMT -5
Blade Runner 2049Needed something to watch Sunday night so I checked out Blade Runner 2049 streaming in Vudu last weekend. I discovered the original like many others did - by renting it on VHS in the late 80s and expecting a very different kind of movie. I'll admit, I wasn't entirely sure what to make of it at first, but I did like it. I would catch it again every now and then, and it slowly dawned on me what a great, powerful story it is. Crazy lighting and hypnotic music. When references to it began showing up in weird places (the movie title was a high school quiz bowl question I heard once, Pop Will Eat Itself wrote a song called "Wake Up, Time To Die" that sampled Leon from the movie, and of course "More Human Than Human" by White Zombie) I realized many others felt the same way. And hell, even if it was added on after the fact, "Blade Runner" has to be one of the coolest sci-fi movie titles ever. So on to the new one. Wow, if nothing else this movie is flipping gorgeous. And really that would have been enough, but all in all this is really well put together. I watched in 4K Ultra on a brand-new television (Merry Christmas to me), and I have to say it was something else. They captured the feel of the original very well, even while exploring different tones and hues from the first movie. I can't say enough about the pacing and style. Despite the movie culture and age we live in, this movie is paced like the original, which is incredible. Action sequences actually make sense and don't happen ever 50 seconds. They make the audience pay attention, and if they do, they're rewarded with a fantastic mystery/thriller/sci-fi adventure. They aim for the brain with this one, and 99 percent of the time it's a bullseye. I honestly don't really know Ryan Gosling's work at all, but he's excellent in this. Without giving too much away here, he has some outstanding emotional moments - one of which shocked the hell out of me and literally made me mist up. That's some good acting. The performances are top-flight. All of them, really. And the plot is interesting, mysterious and completely arresting. Tough to say much more without spoiling it - I'll include some of those points in the spoiler tags below. {Spoiler Notes}* The scene that got me with Gosling was when he learns that he is not the son of Deckard and Rachel. I'm not sure how I didn't see that coming, but his reaction to the news is absolutely heartbreaking. I've read some didn't like this plot twist, but it hit me like a ton of bricks. I thought it was great.
* The whole Replicants reproducing on their own reflects the story of the Cylons in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactic, which in turn was inspired by the original Blade Runner. There are many, many similarities between the two overall stories. But the Blade Runner movies are far more cinematic in their interpretation. Overall, a great experience. I watched it a couple more times despite its 2.5+ hour running time, just to catch some moments I liked or clarify some scenes that confused me the first time around. It's not perfect, but to deliver as well as they did with a followup to an almost unnaturally beloved flick is a miracle in itself. I'll have to check out The Arrival, as I've never seen any other work of Denis Villeneuva. Impressive, sir. It's hard to not recommend this movie, both to those who loved Blade Runner, hated Blade Runner or never saw Blade Runner. Your mileage may vary, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Been a fan of Blade Runner since i rented it at age 10 back in 91 and this sequel surprised the hell out of me!
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Post by Mighty Jack on May 24, 2018 2:05:49 GMT -5
Paddington 2 nondescript spice needs to see this, not only because it's a good movie, but because there's a scene in it she'd really like.
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Post by crowschmo on Jun 27, 2018 19:55:25 GMT -5
I saw the trailer for the new A Star is Born movie starring Bradley Cooper and Lady GaGa, so I watched the 50's version with Judy Garland and the 70's version with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson in it.
I had to fast forward the songs in the Judy Garland version, they were embarassingly bad. There was actually footage missing in some of the scenes, so they just played the audio and showed production stills. It was okay overall, but nothing to write home about.
I'd seen the BS version before and I remembered liking it. Of course, it WAS the 70's and I was 10. This time around I realized the acting was crap, as was the flimsy version of the story and the god-awful songs. Holy CRAP! Barb CANNOT do a "rock goddess" type character to save her life. If that was even rock. I can't really describe the genre. I think it's, like, Barb's own thing that no one else does. Rock? Pop? Show tunes? Just don't know. It sucks is all I know. And Kris' voice is horrible. The songs HE sang, I can't imagine thousands of fans showing up for a concert to listen to that ear pollution, and him being a rock icon or anything, it's just not believable. I didn't pay attention to the end credits to see who wrote those songs. Hellacious Acres? Hellacious writing, you mean. And they kept showing him doing like two minutes of Watch Closely Now to start every "concert" (that he never finished). Just bad - really bad. Waste of time. I fast-forwarded through most of it.
I'm wondering if I should see the new one when it comes out, in, I think, October(?). Maybe I'll wait until it's free. The short blurbs I hear of the songs at least sound better than the 70's version. Sounds like it will be country.
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Post by Grievous on Jun 29, 2018 7:42:25 GMT -5
Isle of Dogs (2018)
An absolutely amazing masterpiece of stop motion animation. Its possibly the best film I've seen in years...
Do yourself a favor & check it out.
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Post by Grievous on Jun 30, 2018 2:07:42 GMT -5
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
A giant, bloated horrible, ridiculous mess... but it had dinosaurs in it...so I liked it.
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Post by Grievous on Jun 30, 2018 6:36:07 GMT -5
Arachnophobia (1990)
I remember really enjoying this one as a kid & it still holds up pretty well.
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Post by Mod City on Aug 9, 2018 19:54:25 GMT -5
Ready Player One This was fun. It looks great and the sheer volume of characters, even if they're just background, is crazy. There are also a couple of great music moments. Definitely enjoyed it. Maybe be the book next. Since it came out not that long ago, I'll place this question under spoiler tags. But maybe Torgo can shed some light on this for me: Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming. Mechagodzilla plays a role in the final act. I realize this movie must have been a licensing nightmare, and I hear they couldn't get Star Wars and Ultraman for various reasons, but something from the Godzilla universe? I'm not biggest Godzilla fan (but hey, who doesn't dig the big guy?), but being an MST3K fan, I know how protective the rights holders are about that guy.
Is Mechagodzilla different when it comes to licensing? The little research I did indicated it's a Toho property. And if I read this stuff right, Mechagodzilla is not the Godzilla, so maybe that makes a difference in the eyes of Toho? Curious if it was a surprise for Godzilla fans to see MG pop up.
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Torgo
Moderator Emeritus
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Post by Torgo on Aug 9, 2018 20:33:20 GMT -5
Ready Player One This was fun. It looks great and the sheer volume of characters, even if they're just background, is crazy. There are also a couple of great music moments. Definitely enjoyed it. Maybe be the book next. Since it came out not that long ago, I'll place this question under spoiler tags. But maybe Torgo can shed some light on this for me: Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming. Mechagodzilla plays a role in the final act. I realize this movie must have been a licensing nightmare, and I hear they couldn't get Star Wars and Ultraman for various reasons, but something from the Godzilla universe? I'm not biggest Godzilla fan (but hey, who doesn't dig the big guy?), but being an MST3K fan, I know how protective the rights holders are about that guy.
Is Mechagodzilla different when it comes to licensing? The little research I did indicated it's a Toho property. And if I read this stuff right, Mechagodzilla is not the Godzilla, so maybe that makes a difference in the eyes of Toho? Curious if it was a surprise for Godzilla fans to see MG pop up. I can only speculate, but... I think Mechagodzilla likely did take negotiation with Toho, however Warner and Toho currently have a business relationship through Warner's distribution of Legendary's MonsterVerse films, which include characters from the Godzilla universe. Warner already had their foot in the door, so I imagine they just asked, Toho gave them a price, and they paid.
On the subject of Ultraman, I hear it was Ultraman who fought Mechagodzilla in the novel but I haven't read it to confirm it. The problem with using Ultraman was that for the last few decades (I think) the character has been caught in a legal battle between Eiji Tsuburaya's studio and a Chinese company that claimed to inherit the character. While the Ready Player One film was in production this legal war was still going. Recently however the case was decided and now Ultraman is back home with Tsuburaya, which paved the way for an Ultraman animated show on Netflix next year. It's likely had this dispute been settled during preproduction of RP1 Ultraman would have been cleared for the movie by whoever was judged to hold the rights. Instead they used Gundam, who was far easier to get.
As for Star Wars, well the long and short of it is that Disney and Warner are rivals. I actually do think I've read Disney allowed some Star Wars characters and/or vehicles in the film, but not many. I need to watch the movie again and see if I spot anything.
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Post by Mod City on Aug 9, 2018 21:09:38 GMT -5
Ready Player One This was fun. It looks great and the sheer volume of characters, even if they're just background, is crazy. There are also a couple of great music moments. Definitely enjoyed it. Maybe be the book next. Since it came out not that long ago, I'll place this question under spoiler tags. But maybe Torgo can shed some light on this for me: Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming. {Spoiler}Mechagodzilla plays a role in the final act. I realize this movie must have been a licensing nightmare, and I hear they couldn't get Star Wars and Ultraman for various reasons, but something from the Godzilla universe? I'm not biggest Godzilla fan (but hey, who doesn't dig the big guy?), but being an MST3K fan, I know how protective the rights holders are about that guy.
Is Mechagodzilla different when it comes to licensing? The little research I did indicated it's a Toho property. And if I read this stuff right, Mechagodzilla is not the Godzilla, so maybe that makes a difference in the eyes of Toho? Curious if it was a surprise for Godzilla fans to see MG pop up. I can only speculate, but... {Spoiler}I think Mechagodzilla likely did take negotiation with Toho, however Warner and Toho currently have a business relationship through Warner's distribution of Legendary's MonsterVerse films, which include characters from the Godzilla universe. Warner already had their foot in the door, so I imagine they just asked, Toho gave them a price, and they paid.
On the subject of Ultraman, I hear it was Ultraman who fought Mechagodzilla in the novel but I haven't read it to confirm it. The problem with using Ultraman was that for the last few decades (I think) the character has been caught in a legal battle between Eiji Tsuburaya's studio and a Chinese company that claimed to inherit the character. While the Ready Player One film was in production this legal war was still going. Recently however the case was decided and now Ultraman is back home with Tsuburaya, which paved the way for an Ultraman animated show on Netflix next year. It's likely had this dispute been settled during preproduction of RP1 Ultraman would have been cleared for the movie by whoever was judged to hold the rights. Instead they used Gundam, who was far easier to get.
As for Star Wars, well the long and short of it is that Disney and Warner are rivals. I actually do think I've read Disney allowed some Star Wars characters and/or vehicles in the film, but not many. I need to watch the movie again and see if I spot anything. Interesting... {Spoiler}On MG, I figured it had to be something like that. I don't know the connections in the studio world to Toho. And this is a more reverent take on the property than, say, MST did. Plus, Warner can shell out the big bucks if they really, really want it. Makes sense. I didn't know the details of the Ultraman lawsuit. To be honest, I like that it's Gundam in the movie instead. I'm much more familiar with that (at least the form) than I am with Ultraman. And yeah, the WB vs. Disney thing is understandable. If anyone was going to deny a certain property to be used, it would be Disney and Star Wars. I did like that Wade Watts describes his name as "Peter Parker" or "Bruce Banner." Marvel characters. I'm guessing they were already using "Clark Kent" for the glasses and sneaked a couple of Disney properties in for good measure. Hey, pretty sure you don't need the rights to just say the names
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Torgo
Moderator Emeritus
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Posts: 15,420
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Post by Torgo on Aug 9, 2018 23:56:46 GMT -5
I can only speculate, but... {Spoiler}I think Mechagodzilla likely did take negotiation with Toho, however Warner and Toho currently have a business relationship through Warner's distribution of Legendary's MonsterVerse films, which include characters from the Godzilla universe. Warner already had their foot in the door, so I imagine they just asked, Toho gave them a price, and they paid.
On the subject of Ultraman, I hear it was Ultraman who fought Mechagodzilla in the novel but I haven't read it to confirm it. The problem with using Ultraman was that for the last few decades (I think) the character has been caught in a legal battle between Eiji Tsuburaya's studio and a Chinese company that claimed to inherit the character. While the Ready Player One film was in production this legal war was still going. Recently however the case was decided and now Ultraman is back home with Tsuburaya, which paved the way for an Ultraman animated show on Netflix next year. It's likely had this dispute been settled during preproduction of RP1 Ultraman would have been cleared for the movie by whoever was judged to hold the rights. Instead they used Gundam, who was far easier to get.
As for Star Wars, well the long and short of it is that Disney and Warner are rivals. I actually do think I've read Disney allowed some Star Wars characters and/or vehicles in the film, but not many. I need to watch the movie again and see if I spot anything. Interesting... {Spoiler}On MG, I figured it had to be something like that. I don't know the connections in the studio world to Toho. And this is a more reverent take on the property than, say, MST did. Plus, Warner can shell out the big bucks if they really, really want it. Makes sense. I didn't know the details of the Ultraman lawsuit. To be honest, I like that it's Gundam in the movie instead. I'm much more familiar with that (at least the form) than I am with Ultraman. And yeah, the WB vs. Disney thing is understandable. If anyone was going to deny a certain property to be used, it would be Disney and Star Wars. I did like that Wade Watts describes his name as "Peter Parker" or "Bruce Banner." Marvel characters. I'm guessing they were already using "Clark Kent" for the glasses and sneaked a couple of Disney properties in for good measure. Hey, pretty sure you don't need the rights to just say the names Yeah, I don't think they need permission just to name drop. I think copyright only protects the image, while a verbal reference is fair game. After all, how else could MST get away with all of the verbal references they've made over the years?
I'm the opposite on Gundam and Ultraman. I know next to nothing about Gundam, but I have seen the original Ultraman series. Seeing Ultra fight Mechagodzilla would have been pretty sweet to me. I'm no Ultraman expert though, however I might eventually get Shout's Ultra Q and UltraSeven sets. I might want to work fast on that, since it seems the licensed those from the losing source of that legal battle (whoopsie). But I've been developing a taste for Toku television since sampling Super Sentai (the Japanese Power Rangers) last year.
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Post by crowschmo on Sept 13, 2018 12:40:40 GMT -5
I saw Happytown Murders yesterday about puppets from an 80's show being killed off, (puppets and people live together in same world) and one of those investigating the murders is also a puppet - former police detective, now private dick.
The trailers made it look fun, but it was absolutely horrible. No real story of any worth. Just an excuse to have puppets swearing and having sex.
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