Movies: Last Movie You Watched and Rate It | Part#: Some High Number +1

[ManwithNoIdentity]

I know my opinion is an unpopular one and I totally respect those who do not share my opinion. I also share the sentiment you do you, and enjoy doing so.

I know how you feel. I absolutely couldn’t stand it and you say that on most social media sites and the responses you get are juvenile

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Damn there's already 2 threads about that Endgame crap... Keep it together, boys! ;-)

Split - too bad, for a while I was thinking that that guy finally made something decent, but too many gimmicks - 4/10
Kindergarten Cop - rewatch, obviously - 3/10
American Made - 4/10
Tomb Raider - the remake, never saw the original - 3/10

Pretty weak week so far...

 

[Communal Blood]

Avengers: Endgame

8/10

 

[ORRFForever]

This isn't a review of Avengers just a sidebar. One difficulty I had with Infinity War was the plot. Thanos doesn't want to destroy the universe, he just wants to wipe out half for the good of the other half. If you know how big the universe is, it doesn't make sense. For the sake of argument, it doesn't even make sense for Earth unless you believe things like the US is full. Any person will tell you we could use a more proper or optimum use or re-allocation of resources and we're fine. The Marvel Malthusian population bomb solution just makes sense for writers looking for an ideology for a villain, but a guy as smart as Thanos, you'd think he could come up with different options. but i'm willing to park logic for the sake of a fictional story.

We are told however that this last Marvel Avenger movie is an apex of sorts of the MCU universe, not just conflating the arcs of all Avenger movies but all 22 Marvel movies. Okayyyy. SO what we have here is not just an ordinary sequel, but the Mother of all sequels. Now this thinking pretty much knocked out Joss Whedon as Avengers Director (he directed the 1st two), he wasn't buying it. (I've read that Whedon thought television shows are a question, movies are an answer; tv is a medium that offers a venue for exploring a subject for years, whereas movies should make a more definitive statement (so he bowed out from making a Saturday matinee blockbuster multi-parter). This format is a great money-maker for Marvel. Most sequels for other projects have a more definitive beginning and end for each movie (like Mission Impossible), not a 'to be continued' like Lost in Space.

If this 'to be continued' format is lucrative, expect more. I personally don't like it though, even if it works for this one. This tentpole movie might be great, I might enjoy the blockbuster when I see it. But a part of me still hates being manipulated with a 'to be continued' format. Actually, the best storyline for a Marvel movie I've seen recently was the smaller-scale project, Spider-verse animated flick. I really liked the story in that one.

ok rant over. I didn't really think this over, it's just an instinctual stream of consciousness keyboard post. I'll still spare you yet another review when I see. Having said all that i'll probably like it when i see it.

What follows is NOT directed at you, Puck - please don't take it as a slight.

I don't understand where the suspense comes from...

You you know "SuperHero A" cannot be killed. "A" can be attacked by 10 bad guys, run over by a car, hit by a missile, fall off a cliff, yet he will somehow survive. So where is the excitement? Where is the suspence?

It would be like getting excited over a football game between the New England Patriots and a high school team.

I just don't get it.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

What follows is NOT directed at you, Puck - please don't take it as a slight.

I don't understand where the suspense comes from...

You you know "SuperHero A" cannot be killed. "A" can be attacked by 10 bad guys, run over by a car, hit by a missile, fall off a cliff, yet he will somehow survive. So where is the excitement? Where is the suspence?

It would be like getting excited over a football game between the New England Patriots and a high school team.

I just don't get it.

At least with a game between the Pats and a high school team, you'd see Bill Belichick run some ridiculously geeky/inventive plays because he's a genius. That would still be more entertaining.

 

[Jussi]

(Apologies for the long-winded post)

Regarding the first point, what you're referring to isn't really what I was talking about. Good movies have their own unique sense of identity, personality, and soul to them regardless of whether they fit into broader archetypes or not-- and fitting into broader archetypes is not what I would hold against Marvel movies. A lack of real personality is (especially in the way that it's executed). When I see the same problem in an art movie, I make the same criticism.

FYI, I wasn't even really saying that being a clone of something is inherently bad-- I was more-so saying that being a clone of the thing that I just called soulless and uninteresting is bad, and claiming that these movies aren't really close to being exceptions, despite trying to superficially present themselves that way.

Regarding the latter point, I similarly don't really empathize with people who subscribe to a "stay in your own lane and only discuss what you enjoy" attitude.

This is generally my thought process, if you're curious....

• There's inherent human satisfaction in genuinely expressing your thoughts and opinions, whatever they may be
• There's inherent human satisfaction that comes with bouncing your ideas off other ideas to strengthen your own understanding of what you think. Honest discussion is fun and rewarding, period.
• There's inherent human satisfaction in connecting with people who share similar opinions, which may be about what you don't enjoy
• There's inherent human satisfaction in the process of trying to get to the bottom of what you think is true.
• There's inherent human satisfaction in just anally up-holding what you think is fair and deserved. If something is good, you just instinctively WANT to see it praised, and if something is bad, you WANT to see that called out. It feels wrong and unjust when it isn't.
• There's inherent human satisfaction in just outright basking in reality, whether you think it happens to be positive or negative.
• Reading the thoughts of others who are similarly vocal/critical/uncompromising about what they think is something that I enjoy, appreciate, and rely on to paint an accurate and non-misleading picture of the experiences that are out there (not that anyone's views are gospel). So I feel good about trying to do the same.

All of these are things that I see a lot of value in, and all of it is essentially lost if you just always stay in your own lane and shut up about what you don't like.

Also...

• I don't know if you relate to this, but whether I appreciate something or not isn't really tied to how easy it is to watch or be pulled into (in fact, it's often the other way around). I can acknowledge that some things that I dislike can be engaging in a degenerate addiction kind of way. Because of that, it's also not really a chore or any skin off my back to watch an easy-to-consume Marvel movie that's getting hyped up like it's a big deal, and want to chime in if I think it was predictably poor and unrewarding. The zeitgeist alone can create a sense of curiosity that I'm happy to feed without there having to be light at the end of the tunnel.
• It doesn't really make me feel bad to voice my displeasure about things. Like... at all. If anything, it can be liberating/grounding. So if I were to avoid doing it, it wouldn't be for my own sake.
• The only other remaining reason I can think of to actively avoid voicing my displeasure about things is that it might bother other people for reasons that in principle SHOULDN'T bother them, in my opinion..... and I'm not going to avoid doing what I find worthwhile simply to appease people who I think are reacting irrationally/unjustly and acting unnecessarily thin-skinned and entitled to begin with.

It's moronic that speaking badly about something that someone else happens to like is seen as an insult or sign of disrespect. So in cases where this causes tension despite no lines legitimately being crossed, I think the onus is on the reactor to not be childishly offended rather than on the commentator to not risk offending. And while I would never go out of my way to TRY to upset people, I think it's ultimately good for the former to be more exposed to that principle rather than be protected from it.

It's not that you don't like these movies but rather the fact that you feel the need to tell it every f***ing time a new movie comes out! We get it already!

 

[Jussi]

What follows is NOT directed at you, Puck - please don't take it as a slight.

I don't understand where the suspense comes from...

You you know "SuperHero A" cannot be killed. "A" can be attacked by 10 bad guys, run over by a car, hit by a missile, fall off a cliff, yet he will somehow survive. So where is the excitement? Where is the suspence?

It would be like getting excited over a football game between the New England Patriots and a high school team.

I just don't get it.

I see you don't really understand the point of Marvel's heroes. You might want to check how Stan Lee describes them. It's the trip but how the tripe affects them ad the non-superhero, how they're personal lives tend to get f***ed while they're saving the world, how imperfect they are as human beings,flaws etc. The same applies more or less the major action stars, people knew Arnold or Sly were not going to die in their action movies in the 80's but they didn't care. People want to be entertained. Your belittling of the comic book or action movie genre comes off as elitist or downright upper class twit.

And there were several deaths in Endgame. These characters aren't coming back.

 

[Osprey]

Your belittling of the comic book or action movie genre comes off as elitist or downright upper class twit.

He didn't belittle the genre. He said that he didn't get it and asked where the suspense comes from. You're coming off as sensitive and defensive (and not just here, but also in your outburst to Shareefruck just above).

And there were several deaths in Endgame. These characters aren't coming back.

They're coming back. Superheroes always come back. They'll find a loop hole, go back in time or just reboot the character or the whole universe in a few years.

 

[Puck]

I always liked the superhero comic book characters. As a kid I liked the Marvel characters better because they were more nuanced, less goody-two shoes than the DC characters. But I still liked both. I think the DC folks picked up on that and started giving their own characters more flaws. But they all might be carrying the darker 'noir' side a bit far at this point, even Star Trek/Star Wars are going darker, sheesh.

Anyway, I try not to be a cranky hater in adulthood. There's still a kid in me that likes the comic book or science fiction stuff. What I admit is, what I probably like less is how the Marvel genre has taken over a lot of the money in cinema, taking the oxygen out for the other serious stuff. But I guess that's our own fault. The older crowd stays home to watch on their expensive systems, it's the younger kids that drive theatre chain profits now and the studios go where the money is.

I also don't mind all the reviews. I liked how kihei wrote Marvel reviews before, he's a serious cinephile and decided it wasn't beneath him. I agree with him, no need to get snobby with pop culture. He promised to give them a fair normal critique, like any other. But I come here mostly to get info on the less advertised movies, the hidden gems, the stuff that doesn't get a lot of hype. That's the only reason I won't jump in and add my review to already heavy commented content. I still manage to add my two-cents worth though haha.

p.s. I just went over and read The Avengers threads including the spoilers. Sounds complicated so the spoilers won't ruin it. The film seems to be giving the fans a lot of joy, hard to knock that. I will wait until the crowds go down to see it though, maybe in a month. And I promise you won't hear from me when I do. (nothing negative either lol)

 

[Jussi]

He didn't belittle the genre. He said that he didn't get it and asked where the suspense comes from. You're coming off as sensitive and defensive (and not just here, but also in your outburst to Shareefruck just above).


They're coming back. Superheroes always come back. They'll find a loop hole, go back in time or just reboot the character or the whole universe in a few years.

He's said otherwise in the Captain Marvel thread or some other thread. My point was the his stance is absurd when you look at all the entertainment. As for the other person, if you spent time in the other threads, you'd see the point. He's established his view years ago yet shows up in these thread every time there's a new movie say the same things. Do a quick search of his posts on the Entertainment board on MCU film threads.

They're not. The actors are done. There's only the Black widow movie which is going to be a prequel time (think Budapest). They can't go back in time according to the rules of time travel established in the movie.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

He's said otherwise in the Captain Marvel thread or some other thread. My point was the his stance is absurd when you look at all the entertainment. As for the other person, if you spent time in the other threads, you'd see the point. He's established his view years ago yet shows up in these thread every time there's a new movie say the same things. Do a quick search of his posts on the Entertainment board on MCU film threads.

They're not. The actors are done. There's only the Black widow movie which is going to be a prequel time (think Budapest). They can't go back in time according to the rules of time travel established in the movie.

And you show up in every thread praising every superhero movie that comes out. Stop being sensitive because people don't like a tired, cynical genre that you can't get enough of.

 

[Jussi]

And you show up in every thread praising every superhero movie that comes out. Stop being sensitive because people don't like a tired, cynical genre that you can't get enough of.

Not unless I've seen it. Some of DC's efforts have not garnered praise from me nor a lot posters her either.

A tired, cynical genre? Sounds like someone hasn't been watching these movies if you think they're tired or cynical. Or you're making your agenda well known.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Not unless I've seen it. Some of DC's efforts have not garnered praise from me nor a lot posters her either.

A tired, cynical genre? Sounds like someone hasn't been watching these movies if you think they're tired or cynical. Or you're making your agenda well known.

I have no agenda besides finding and talking about good and bad art. There's like 6 of these movies that get released every year for the past 10 years, all of them with the same variation of predictable plot, characters and formulaic execution. IMO, superhero movies are the epitome of cliche and cynical. They're nothing more than a product lab-designed to rake in cash for heavy investors. They take no risks, and are utterly limited in their creativity. I've seen some of them by hanging out with friends. You've seen one, you've seen all of em' essentially.

 

[Jussi]

I have no agenda besides finding and talking about good and bad art. There's like 6 of these movies that get released every year for the past 10 years, all of them with the same variation of predictable plot, characters and formulaic execution. IMO, superhero movies are the epitome of cliche and cynical. They're nothing more than a product lab-designed to rake in cash for heavy investors. They take no risks, and are utterly limited in their creativity. I've seen some of them by hanging out with friends. You've seen one, you've seen all of em' essentially.

3 tops.

Please, go say the same thing in the Endgame thread.

 

[tacogeoff]

3 tops.

Please, go say the same thing in the Endgame thread.

He is not wrong in terms of the formats of the individual Marvel Superhero movies. They are very rinse and repeat/cookie cutter.

The group effort movies become a tad more complex with the amount of superheros in them and its nice how they tied them all together but it honestly wasn't a very complex process imo. Great story though. I honestly don't mind them at all and am heading to Endgame at 3:00.

For me personally no superhero movie has held a candle to Dark Knight yet....but I think the new Joker may.

 

[ORRFForever]

Your belittling of the comic book or action movie genre comes off as elitist or downright upper class twit.

I'll take that as a compliment.

 

[ORRFForever]

He didn't belittle the genre. He said that he didn't get it and asked where the suspense comes from. You're coming off as sensitive and defensive (and not just here, but also in your outburst to Shareefruck just above).


They're coming back. Superheroes always come back. They'll find a loop hole, go back in time or just reboot the character or the whole universe in a few years.

Amen.

 

[ORRFForever]

Anyway, I try not to be a cranky hater in adulthood. There's still a kid in me that likes the comic book or science fiction stuff. What I admit is, what I probably like less is how the Marvel genre has taken over a lot of the money in cinema, taking the oxygen out for the other serious stuff. But I guess that's our own fault. The older crowd stays home to watch on their expensive systems, it's the younger kids that drive theatre chain profits now and the studios go where the money is.

Terrific paragraph. Well written and spot on.

 

[ORRFForever]

I have no agenda besides finding and talking about good and bad art. There's like 6 of these movies that get released every year for the past 10 years, all of them with the same variation of predictable plot, characters and formulaic execution. IMO, superhero movies are the epitome of cliche and cynical. They're nothing more than a product lab-designed to rake in cash for heavy investors. They take no risks, and are utterly limited in their creativity. I've seen some of them by hanging out with friends. You've seen one, you've seen all of em' essentially.

Well said.

 

[ORRFForever]

And you show up in every thread praising every superhero movie that comes out. Stop being sensitive because people don't like a tired, cynical genre that you can't get enough of.

Thank you.

I am sure Jussi is a nice guy, but he takes it personally when people don't like what he likes - altho, to a certain extent, we all do (God knows, I've cringed / beefed at people liking BlackKKlansman).

This thread, for the most part, is for people who like higher end movies. It should be accepted as such.

 

[ORRFForever]

I am hoping "Long Shot" dies a painful death at the theater and perhaps having Endgame suck the oxygen out of the box office will make that happen.

 

[heatnikki]

The Ring 2. The US remake. Didn't like it at all. The 1st was far better.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Thank you.

I am sure Jussi is a nice guy, but he takes it personally when people don't like what he likes - altho, to a certain extent, we all do (God knows, I've cringed / beefed at people liking BlackKKlansman).

This thread, for the most part, is for people who like higher end movies. It should be accepted as such.

Personally, I couldn't care less whether people dislike a work that I like. In fact, I get some sort of sordid amusement when someone who's opinion I respect openly shits on a work of art I'm fond of. I'm not sure why. Just the subjectivity, I guess. Maybe I'm subconsciously some sort of sadomasochist. OTOH though, it is cool to feel kinship with people who's taste align with mine. I don't have much of that in my physical life, lol.

 

[Shareefruck]

It's not that you don't like these movies but rather the fact that you feel the need to tell it every ****ing time a new movie comes out! We get it already!

This rings completely hollow because:
1) You're doing your best to admonish and dismiss other people disliking these movies in this very thread. So it's clearly not just the repetition that bothers you.
2) You USED to have a problem with me merely disliking them in the past as well, and the narrative has only recently shifted to "The fact that you don't like them doesn't bother me, the fact that you repeat it does." The first part of that is obviously untrue. You've shown that you're bothered by BOTH the fact that your favorite thing is criticized to any significant degree AND you have no tolerance for hearing it repeated.

Even ignoring that, though, I don't see how it's any different from posters such as yourself who are hyped up and praise these movies every time they come out (and I'm not saying that's wrong to do). A movie comes out-- it becomes relevant again and everything surrounding them should get discussed by all sides. If the same points of praise, contention, skepticism, or optimism apply again, then those discussion points should be repeated.

This point I made earlier applies to your reaction:

The only other remaining reason I can think of to actively avoid voicing my displeasure about things is that it might bother other people for reasons that in principle SHOULDN'T bother them, in my opinion..... and I'm not going to avoid doing what I find worthwhile simply to appease people who I think are reacting irrationally/unjustly and acting unnecessarily thin-skinned and entitled to begin with.

It's moronic that speaking badly about something that someone else happens to like is seen as an insult or sign of disrespect. So in cases where this causes tension despite no lines legitimately being crossed, I think the onus is on the reactor to not be childishly offended rather than on the commentator to not risk offending. And while I would never go out of my way to TRY to upset people, I think it's ultimately good for the former to be more exposed to that principle rather than be protected from it.

Realize that my opinions are not a personal affront on you (no matter how often you come across them), stop being so knee-jerk-emotional/defensive/thin-skinned/petty about these things, and accept/converse respectfully about differences like everyone else does. If there's something directly wrong about what I'm saying, dispassionately point it out-- don't react out of spite as if you're under attack or something.

Please, go say the same thing in the Endgame thread.

The fact that you can't without everyone overreacting is a bad thing, and why those threads are self-governed in a really childishly toxic way. It shouldn't be a point of pride for anybody.

Thank you.
I am sure Jussi is a nice guy, but he takes it personally when people don't like what he likes - altho, to a certain extent, we all do (God knows, I've cringed / beefed at people liking BlackKKlansman).

Personally, I couldn't care less whether people dislike a work that I like. In fact, I get some sort of sordid amusement when someone who's opinion I respect openly ****s on a work of art I'm fond of. I'm not sure why. Just the subjectivity, I guess. Maybe I'm subconsciously some sort of sadomasochist. OTOH though, it is cool to feel kinship with people who's taste align with mine. I don't have much of that in my physical life, lol.

I get it to some degree. When someone has a problem with a thing that I love, I do get a disappointed pit in my stomach and have to brace myself for it. But that doesn't justify a spiteful reaction. You push right through that gut reaction and welcome the opinion anyways (while respectfully prodding at it and providing a counter-perspective if you don't think it holds up), because that's the way that it should be.

The root of the feeling is relate-able, sure, but it's obviously a bad instinct that any adult should know is wrong and be able catch and recognize as unreasonable behavior, the same way that you would when you catch yourself guilty of feeling jealous, vindictive, egotistical, or petty (which are also relate-able base instincts). Just like with those things, everyone should be expected to have the willpower to decide not to follow through on those things and not to let it dictate the way that you actually behave. It's no defense, and while it may happen on occasion even to the best of us, we still have to own up to it when it happens.

And to Amerika's point, when lines aren't crossed, the negative side of that feeling is often met with the much more meaningful and principled "I respect you so much more for being real about this rather than feeling the need to sheepishly tip-toe around your true thoughts, and the fact that you're being so ruthless right now is almost like tangible proof of that" side of it, which can have a liberating appeal of its own anyways.

 

[Osprey]

He's said otherwise in the Captain Marvel thread or some other thread. My point was the his stance is absurd when you look at all the entertainment. As for the other person, if you spent time in the other threads, you'd see the point. He's established his view years ago yet shows up in these thread every time there's a new movie say the same things. Do a quick search of his posts on the Entertainment board on MCU film threads.

I can imagine that the criticism gets a little tiresome, but is there really a difference between them re-establishing their distaste for the genre each time a new movie comes out and you re-establishing your love of it?

They're not. The actors are done. There's only the Black widow movie which is going to be a prequel time (think Budapest). They can't go back in time according to the rules of time travel established in the movie.

The actors may be done, but the characters will be back eventually. It's naive to think otherwise. You even just proved my point with the prequel movie. Also, if they established new rules of time travel in this movie, then that just goes to show that they're making it up as they go and can amend a loop hole in a later movie. Regardless, though, it's just a matter of time (perhaps sooner than later, since this was really the "endgame") before Disney decides to reboot the universe, starting with new origin stories, to milk it over again.

3 tops.

No, he was right. As I pointed out on Friday, there were 6 superhero movies in each of 2016, 2017 and 2018 and will be 7 in 2019. See the link that I gave if you don't believe it.