Recently watched movies

[Carol the Dabbler]

Maybe they think if it's loud enough and fast enough and has enough explosions, then they don't need to come up with an actual plot?

 

(Am I an old fogy yet?)

Not at all!

Say me, who fell asleep during the final fight scene in the first Transformer.

It's so boring it's like lullaby.

I nearly fell asleep every time it was elf vs. orc in the Hobbit trilogy.  Admittedly, I saw two of the three movies at midnight -- but I think elves turning somersaults and slashing at orcs like a teppanyaki chef would bore me silly even in mid-afternoon.  Likewise the big battle (though the sandworms woke me up long enough to think ).

[Artemis]

Most battle scenes bore me as well.  I did however enjoy the "twirly-whirlies" in the extended edition of The Hobbit, lol.  I'm not sure if they were in the theatrical version.

 

(Fast forward to 3:25 in the video.)

 

 

 

[T.o.b.y]

I didn't like Frozen either, and what I hated even more was all the fuss everyone made over it. I got so sick of hearing about how "amazing" it was, especially that awful, screechy song that won an Academy Award and was played everywhere I went for the next year or more. How is running off and isolating yourself in the mountains because you're scared "letting anything go" anyway? Wasn't that exactly what Simba did in The Lion King and what Rafiki told him was a problem? It's not supposed to be inspirational behavior. People are just weird. :/

 

I try to avoid conversations about it because whenever I voice my distaste, I'm just told that I haven't seen it enough times yet. Like after 5 or 20 or 100 viewings, I'll finally see the greatness.

 

I liked that she had superpowers, and the setting, but that's about it.

:-D It's tough disliking something universally popular... I avoid conversations about Harry Potter, for example.

 

Must admit that I really like the music in Frozen and I always sing along loud and wrong to "Let it Go" but I am not a fan of the character design. I just really don't like that style, especially the faces. Also, the story doesn't captivate me and I think Olaf is annoying and a tad creepy.

 

But I do like the music. I like musicals in general, I know they're cheesy and commercial but I just do. I like "Wicked", too, for example.

[Pseudonym]

'Let it Go' makes me want to murder people. 

 

The Hobbit movies were much too long, bringing in extra bits, that god awful goblin/orc song in the first one. I hated that in the books, all the incessant songs. The only Hobbit film I liked was the second one, the other two bored me to death, which is a shame because I really enjoyed LOTR. 

 

Can't remember if I mentioned that I saw Ghost in the Shell - another boring film. I hear the anime is great, in which case the movie just doesn't translate. I'll have to watch the anime at some point. I'm hyper critical of anime though because I did a year of animation in uni, where everyone gushed over anime so much it made me hate a lot of the popular ones. 

 

Some of the designs in Ghost in the Shell were great though, I came across this brilliant video of Adam Savage talking to Richard Taylor at Weta about the geisha masks - anyone into art, design, props etc... this is brilliant. 

 

 

 

[T.o.b.y]

Another embarrassing fact about myself: I used to be really into anime as a teenager. Now I only still like the Miyazaki ones - Totoro, Mononoke (very violent but my favorite nonetheless), Castle in the Sky, etc.

[Pseudonym]

The Miyazaki ones are the ones I really dislike, the walk cycles always bug the life out of me. To be fair I think I've only sat down and actually watched two, but yea, not a fan. 

[Artemis]

:-D It's tough disliking something universally popular...

 

It really is, lol.  And I find myself doing that fairly often.

 

The only Hobbit film I liked was the second one, the other two bored me to death, which is a shame because I really enjoyed LOTR.

 

I liked the second one best too, and mostly for Smaug.

 

Another embarrassing fact about myself: I used to be really into anime as a teenager.

 

I was too, for about 2 years.  Other people seem to think I should feel embarrassed about it, but I have determined not to be, lol.  Some anime is very thought-provoking and well-written.  Also I have found that anime does tragedy better than anything else.  I was always a bit picky about which ones I watched though.

 

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

Why is it embarrassing? Anime could be cool and thought provoking, just lije other genre.

 

But this one..

I like musicals in general, I know they're cheesy and commercial but I just do.

Good god, Toby!

:blanket:

 

 

:p

[Carol the Dabbler]

Hey, I like musicals too! Well, some of them, anyhow -- primarily the kind with a satisfying ending (which also is my favorite kind of story in any medium).

 

But it's been so long since I saw a good musical that I'm having trouble thinking of any examples other than The Music Man.

[Van Buren Supernova]

[SherlockedCAMPer]

I'll definitely go for a good musical. Usually a classic such as Singing in the Rain.

[T.o.b.y]

I like it when musicals are a bit creepy, cynical or otherwise dark. I just enjoy the contrast between the kitschy music and the adult themes. I enjoy Rocky Horror, for example. I also liked Sweeney Todd (can't look at the screen when he cuts people's throats, though). However, I wasn't much taken with Les Misérables - probably because I also never liked the book. The only song I liked there was the one about the landlord and his wife at the inn. That one was funny.

[Artemis]

I like it when musicals are a bit creepy, cynical or otherwise dark.

 

Ditto.  I liked "Into the Woods" for that reason.  I like very few musicals, though.

 

However, I wasn't much taken with Les Misérables - probably because I also never liked the book. The only song I liked there was the one about the landlord and his wife at the inn. That one was funny.

 

Ditto to that too.  "Master of the House" in the best song.  :lol:  The only version of "Les Miserables" I like is the non-musical movie from 1998, starring Liam Neeson.  That's one of my favorites movies, in fact.  Jean Valjean is one of my favorite fictional characters.

 

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

[Carol the Dabbler]

It's OK, VBS -- we won't make you watch them.

[Pseudonym]

Good work lulling her into a false sense of security Carol. Now quick, grab her! Fire up the TV!

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

While you are on that, could you be a doll and pour concrete into my ears?

[Fantasy Lover]

I went there with low expectation, and actually quite enjoyed it. Have no problem with the plot though, mainly because I didn't watch the predecessor, so I'm not aware of what you mentioned, and to me, superhero movies, especially collective ones like this case, don't have much room for diversity of story line, so I don't expect to be impressed by that, it's very predictable, no surprise. The formula is very similar to every superhero movies, except the Dark Knight Trilogy that somehow leaves good footprint in my memory.

 

Since you asked:

In Batman v Superman we see how Batman grows a grudge against Superman because of the events of Man of steel - in which superman's ruins a lot of buildings and lives- for that he has to stand trial, and people are devided about Superman: About whether he is a saviour, or a destroyer. And at the end he dies, and then somehow ALL people morn him like nothing happened and then he gets a frigging state funeral, which is just lame.

 

 

Actually I'm more disappointed with the costumes and appearance. I kept concentrating on noticing the weird look on Superman's face. Okay, I didn't watch Man in Steel, or whatever this Superman is in previously, actually the only one I watched is Wonder Woman. So I had never seen these Superman and Batman, I also know there is no single movie about Aquaman and Flash. So I'm not sure if Henry Carvill really looks like that, or the CGI on his face makes him looks weird. It looks like they are using same template way too often. Wonder why the other movie wouldn't use fake moustache instead, what a pain..

I should have specified that when I said that the CGI was dodgy, I was indeed referring to Henry's face.

First of all, I want to complain first.
Rant starts. If you guys familiar with my b*tching, I really hate musical and I roll eyes way too often with princess movies. Can't say I didn't like them when I was younger, but certainly outgrow it. So, I went in today to see Coco, knowing very briefly about what it is, and I know the reviews are good. Reluctant to spend money on animation at first but I need to find somewhere out of home for a while. And..... the movie started with @(*@*$% frigging Elsa, whoever those from Frozen, which I didn't watch, singing. Okay, this is probably a trailer. But NOT! It went on and on, and I'm not even sure if there have been ten complete sentences spoken, they already break into the third song, and I really considered leaping from my seat and climb the railing behind me (seated at the last row, cornered to the wall) to escape. I even checked my phone to make sure that I didn't buy the wrong ticket and ended up in sequel of Frozen, also made very audible groan when characters started singing again. I know pixar normally includes short animation but they are always good, or at least in the same category. Unless Coco is horrifying musical as well. So, it WAS a 20-minutes short animation, very lame, torturing, boring and almost made me leave. It's stupid really, that audiences were made to sit through those. Okay, some may think it's extra, but to me, it feels like horrible never ending crappy advertisement, and I twitched everytime they sing, which is all they did. Rant over.

that animation "short" made the news: https://www.polygon.com/2017/11/28/16706714/coco-frozen-short

I'm not sure with what you meant by The Amazon being sexualized, because to be honest, I didn't catch that. Is is the scene where Aquaman made comments about Wonder Woman? We may have different perception, I don't think that one is over the line actually. I thought he was expressing his admiration on her ability, and yes, look, but not in disrespect way. And it's meant to be funny, because he was actually under the spell of the rope and expressing his vulnerability. Or is it the one where Stephenwolf trash-talking about Amazon women liking him? That is not good, but also, I don't feel that is sexualized but trash-talking in term that he is going to take over the world. Each on its own I guess.

Since you also asked, here is comparison between the Amazon costumes of Wonder Woman and The justice League, I'll bet you can deduce which costume belongs where.

[Pseudonym]

I just saw Spiderman Homecoming, I really enjoyed it! A lot more playful than the previous Spidey movies, and Spiderman finally, finally, had the right personality. I've loved Spiderman since the '90s cartoon version I watched religiously in the '00s. I was so excited when the first movie came out, but the films have never been quite right. The Tobey Maguire Spidey wasn't sarcastic and wise-cracking enough. I barely remember the second one - Doc Oc, I think? Done poorly. And the less said about Spiderman 3's emo Peter the better. Venom (and to a lesser extent Carnage) are by far the best Spiderman villains in my opinion, I love Venom, and they messed him up so, so badly.

 

The Amazing Spiderman Andrew Garfield version was a bit better with him being mouthy and a smart arse, but I think I only watched the first movie (hated the design of the Lizard - that weird flat face? Urgh). I still haven't seen the second, which shows that even though Spidey is my main superhero guy I had completely lost interest - it all got a bit paint by numbers.

 

Anyway, enough being nerdy, back to Homecoming. Making Spidey younger was a brilliant decision. I was really glad they did away with the whole origin bit again, I started watching a bit weary, waiting for yet another rehash of 'get bit by spider, experience weird changes, get used to new abilities' blah blah blah, but they didn't even bother with any of that, instead we get straight into the action with the battle from Capt America Civil War... which Spidey is vlogging. And fanboying. 

 

The bad guy is Vulture, but is never called that until right at the very end when Spidey calls him it in a note. A good decision, a lot of the Spidey villains are pretty kitchy by todays standards, and making Vulture high tech and not naming him was definitely a good decision. The techy spider stuff worked well - I love his little spider drone, and Tony Stark was in it just enough. Towards the end I kept expecting Iron Man to swoop in and save the day, and it's great that he didn't. There were bits that made me laugh, and I felt genuinely sad when Peter (and I don't think this is a spoiler) is stuck under rubble. 

 

I doubt they'll do Venom again, which is a shame since his origins are alien and they've already established aliens are a thing in this universe. I would love, love, love to see Venom done properly - he was pretty creepy in a kids cartoon, he could be genuinely terrifying in a movie. I need a Venom t-shirt. 

[Arcadia]

Cover your eyes, VBS, we're back to musicals....

 

'Let it Go' makes me want to murder people. 

 

The Hobbit movies were much too long, bringing in extra bits, that god awful goblin/orc song in the first one. I hated that in the books, all the incessant songs. The only Hobbit film I liked was the second one, the other two bored me to death, which is a shame because I really enjoyed LOTR. 

 

Can't remember if I mentioned that I saw Ghost in the Shell - another boring film. I hear the anime is great, in which case the movie just doesn't translate. I'll have to watch the anime at some point. I'm hyper critical of anime though because I did a year of animation in uni, where everyone gushed over anime so much it made me hate a lot of the popular ones. 

 

Some of the designs in Ghost in the Shell were great though, I came across this brilliant video of Adam Savage talking to Richard Taylor at Weta about the geisha masks - anyone into art, design, props etc... this is brilliant. 

 

 

I read some of the manga and watched some of the anime, and found them both boring, boring, boring. But the teenage guys I encountered ate it up. A lot of them were very intense (humorless) about it, I always suspected it was the combination of tech and nihilism that drew them in. That attitude seems to appeal to a lot of young men, for some reason.

 

Hey, I like musicals too! Well, some of them, anyhow -- primarily the kind with a satisfying ending (which also is my favorite kind of story in any medium).

But it's been so long since I saw a good musical that I'm having trouble thinking of any examples other than The Music Man.

 

How about: Sound of Music, West Side Story (my all time favorite), On the Town, Pal Joey, My Fair Lady (boy, that one is so much better when you watch it as an adult! ), The King and I, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (saw it live, hysterical!), South Pacific, any scene with Fred Astaire dancing (but not singing, please), Camelot, Godspell (also great live -- actually made me cry), 1776, Fiddler on the Roof .... 

 

I can't think of a single "modern" musical that I liked, although I suspect I'd appreciate them more if I could see them live. But they're usually too dark (Cabaret, Moulin Rouge).

 

Oh, and let's not forget the Disney films! Love most of them. "Cruella DeVille, Cruella DeVille, if she doesn't scare you, then nobody will..." :D

[Carol the Dabbler]

Oh, right!  Disney musicals -- Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty -- most of the old hand-animated features, I guess.

 

I like some of your examples, but am a little put off by the storyline of others.  I kinda prefer my musicals to be gently upbeat with a happy or at least satisfying (to me) ending, so West Side Story isn't one of my favorites (likewise Oklahoma).  South Pacific is a bit dark, but redeemed by the ending, I guess, and I love the songs.  And ditto Sound of Music.  Fiddler on the Roof I loved as a play but unfortunately don't care for the movie.  (I like The Music Man better as a play also, but the movie is pretty good.)  My Fair Lady is good (though I agree with Shaw about the ending).

 

Have never seen the King and I (had tickets to see Yul Brynner on Broadway, but that was near the end of his life, and he wasn't well enough to go on that night, so they cancelled the performance).  I read the novel ages ago and found it a bit dark in places, but apparently the play / movie is lighter.  Suppose I should see the movie someday.

 

Not a big fan of dance numbers in general.  I like Dirty Dancing pretty well, though (and Alex just loves it).

[T.o.b.y]

I have loved every production of Fiddler on the Roof that I have seen, from an amateur performance to the movie I have on DVD, but it's so sad, so very, very sad. I hardly ever rewatch it.

[SherlockedCAMPer]

I like most classic musicals and that includes Westside Story. And Westside Story is basically Romeo & Juliet set in New York City between rival gangs.

[Arcadia]

Does Oklahoma have a sad ending? Well, it's sad for the one guy who ends up dead, but wasn't he a sort of villain? At any rate, I remember it not being among my favorites, nor Seven Brides for Seven Brothers either.

 

I guess I can take sad as long as there's also hope, like at the end of West Side Story.

 

As far as modern musicals go, I think I would have liked Chicago (I thought Catherine Zeta-Jones was amazing), but I got so annoyed by all the crotch shots that I ended up hating it instead.

 

I like what I've seen of some of the Bollywood musicals too, although I'm not sure I could sit all the way through one. The ending of Slum Dog Millionaire was my absolute favorite part. AHA!!!! There's a recent one I really enjoyed ... Bride and Prejudice! If they're all like that, I'd like to see more....

[Carol the Dabbler]

Yeah, Bride and Prejudice isn't actually a Bollywood movie, but it's a pretty accurate send-up of one.

 

I've seen only a few, and can offhand think of only one actual musical -- and I don't recall the name of it!