OT: Let's talk about movies (and TV shows)... Part XX

[Runner77]

I'm here for a funeral of my ex-partner's mother. While we're not close anymore, I felt like I couldn't ignore her invitation to pay my respects.

I've never been to this region of China before and it feels very foreign to me right now. Or maybe it's the awkwardness given my circumstances of visiting, I'm not sure.

P.S. Strangely enough, I'm flying straight over to Israel after to meet up with my sister on a vacation. The timing isn't the best.

Oh, so, so sorry to hear that. My heartfelt condoleances. Safe travels.

 

[Kimota]

I thought Venom really sucked. I mean sure the relationship between the thing and the guy was fun but I don't know somehow the concept of Venom failed to come together. And that is because it was not really a symbiose as a character. The guy Eddie didn't have any control and was just along for the ride. In the movie, Venom is the alien and control everything. In the comics the man and the creature are nothing, it's together that they are Venom. Hence the important "we" element. When Venom attacks a foe it's pretty much Eddie that does it, when he attacks Spider-Man, he does it on his own yet fed by the pulsions of the creature. When in the comics you see Venom with the big mouth and teeth smiling it's not just the alien, it's the fusion of both, it's Eddie. In the movie from beginning to end, Venom is mainly the alien that does everything, Eddie is just a victim along for the ride. The creature makes all the decisions in a fight for example. Whereas in the comics you know it's Eddie. It's Eddie's humour and sadism.

Biggest reason is that the Eddie Brock in this movie is a good guy depressed loser so he is completetly different from the personality of Venom while the Eddie Brock in the comics is a big muscular jerk who wants to cause mischief. Venom is an expression of himself fused with a symbiote. Also logically the creature should not be called Venom, it's the fusion of both that should. Hence when the creature talks to Eddie, it should not say "we", it should say "I" but when Venom talks, it should say "we".

When the symbiote itself called itself Venom and call the other alien "Riot" it's missing the point.

Also I was not a fan of the Venom effect, I thought he looked like gelly. I thought the Venom effects from Spider-Man 3 were better.

 

[sandviper]

I thought Venom really sucked. I mean sure the relationship between the thing and the guy was fun but I don't know somehow the concept of Venom failed to come together. And that is because it was not really a symbiose as a character. The guy Eddie didn't have any control and was just along for the ride. In the movie, Venom is the alien and control everything. In the comics the man and the creature are nothing, it's together that they are Venom. Hence the important "we" element. When Venom attacks a foe it's pretty much Eddie that does it, when he attacks Spider-Man, he does it on his own yet fed by the pulsions of the creature. When in the comics you see Venom with the big mouth and teeth smiling it's not just the alien, it's the fusion of both, it's Eddie. In the movie from beginning to end, Venom is mainly the alien that does everything, Eddie is just a victim along for the ride. The creature makes all the decisions in a fight for example. Whereas in the comics you know it's Eddie. It's Eddie's humour and sadism.

Biggest reason is that the Eddie Brock in this movie is a good guy depressed loser so he is completetly different from the personality of Venom while the Eddie Brock in the comics is a big muscular jerk who wants to cause mischief. Venom is an expression of himself fused with a symbiote. Also logically the creature should not be called Venom, it's the fusion of both that should. Hence when the creature talks to Eddie, it should not say "we", it should say "I" but when Venom talks, it should say "we".

When the symbiote itself called itself Venom and call the other alien "Riot" it's missing the point.

Also I was not a fan of the Venom effect, I thought he looked like gelly. I thought the Venom effects from Spider-Man 3 were better.

I don’t know much about the characters other than who they were and basic powers. However, you make valid points and like you, though maybe not as harsh, I wasn’t thrilled with the movie. Seems except for rare occasions, like Wonder Woman and Deadpool (as well as a couple X-men/Wolverine movies), only the MCU is rather consistent. They’ve had duds also, but mostly they had good movies.

I mentioned in another post but one problem was history and backstory. Comics can go issues upon issues building a character whereas a movie gets 90 minutes to a couple hours. Also, sometimes comic concepts or powers just don’t translate to film well. That said, credit to Deadpool to making Domino work, even if they joked about it as well.

Back on topic, yeah, the jelly effect for Venom was weird. I also felt Hardy was wasted as Eddie. He’s such a great actor but he just comes off whiny and incompetent in this movie. Also, while there were some good sequences in the final battle, it felt anticlimactic since Venom and Riot finally confronted one another at the launch, and the fight was done under 5 minutes. There was no build up during the movie and the fight sorta just happened and that was it.

Anyhow, I didn’t hate it enough to skip on the sequel which I do have some hope for if Carnage is the big bad.

 

[groovejuice]

I'm here for a funeral of my ex-partner's mother. While we're not close anymore, I felt like I couldn't ignore her invitation to pay my respects.

I've never been to this region of China before and it feels very foreign to me right now. Or maybe it's the awkwardness given my circumstances of visiting, I'm not sure.

P.S. Strangely enough, I'm flying straight over to Israel after to meet up with my sister on a vacation. The timing isn't the best.

I think you'll love Israel. It's a much calmer place then you might imagine considering the geopolitical situation. I imagine it's like growing up in the shadow of a smoking volcano - you're aware of a possible impending event, but manage to lead a perfectly normal life in the meantime.

Jerusalem is spectacular in an historical and anthropological sense and the Old City harkens back in many ways to a pre-Christian and Islamic era.

Tel Aviv is ultra modern and its little sister Jaffa is extraordinarily unordinary. The beaches on the Med and Red Sea are excellent. The Dead Sea is a must see, as are the multitude of historic sites all over the country.

The food is outstanding everywhere and the dance clubs, concert halls, museums and other points of interest are numerous. Visit a kibbutz and if you have time, you can find one that will adopt you for a short stay. You'll have to work though!

Eat falafel. Lots of it.

 

[Redux91]

The issue with comic book movies is really the same, if not worse, than book to film... too much content. I can’t speak for Venom, but let’s take something like Infinity War. While I thought they did a great job, they borrowed elements from at least 2 comic story arcs (maybe a hardcore fan has to correct me but I am pretty sure they used elements from Infinity Gauntlet and Infinity). Those arcs spanned at least 20-25 comics in total. Then, they had to stick with the built-in narratives of 22 movies.

Good post, tho i enjoyed venom greatly, i couldnt help but frown when Riot, like you said , spends 6 months in asia and basically just twiddles his thumbs until its time to head to america

But i just wanted to confirm what you said about infinity war lol, ive got the collection of comics from the whole "Infinity Saga", there's a pretty major character throughout the whole saga named "Adam Warlock", who has yet to truly arrive in the MCU, he's been teased at at the end of Guardians 2 tho, anyways the Saga goes :

-The Thanos Quest (i urge everybody to read this, its a fantastic Thanos context story) basically showing you how he gets the gems
-The Infinity Gauntlet (basically the "infinity war" movie but waaaay different lol)

Those 2 are basically what you need to see Thanos as a villain, the rest is:

-The Infinity War (Its ok, but its a story about Adam Warlocks evil doppelganger "The Magus" trying to get the gauntlet)
-The Infinity Crusade (about Warlocks "good" doppelganger "The Goddess", its terrible, pass)
-The Infinity Abyss (not the worst thing made, but feels like flimsy closure to the whole Infinity Saga, ...they have since fixed that with a new infinity saga, specifically re-imaginings of Thanos stories)

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I'm shocked anyone went to Venom let alone it grossing 80 million bucks. It looks like a terrible movie from the previews.

 

[Redux91]

I'm shocked anyone went to Venom let alone it grossing 80 million bucks. It looks like a terrible movie from the previews.

Well, its not Topher Grace tho lol.. its Tom Hardy ... he definitely brings something to the role others simply cant

there's 2-3 wince moments but you can say that about every movie..it was surprisingly solid all things considered honestly

In a perfect world, its inside the MCU and its rated R ... but we're just not there yet with sony and fox, but baby steps is better than 0, knowing full well a movie about venom in the MCU or having it rated R was so far away from the realm of possibility that to get anything at ALL to help forget the joke that was spiderman 3 was a huge treat, as Venom has always been a truly fascinating character

i thought they did a fantastic job, ESPECIALLY when you find out who they got for Carnage

 

[A Loyal Dog]

Anyone here a true film fanatic?

I wanna talk about the Oscars, since I've seen all the films that will be nominated for Best Picture this year.

 

[Redux91]

Anyone here a true film fanatic?

I wanna talk about the Oscars, since I've seen all the films that will be nominated for Best Picture this year.

And pre tell who do you think wins lol?

 

[sandviper]

Good post, tho i enjoyed venom greatly, i couldnt help but frown when Riot, like you said , spends 6 months in asia and basically just twiddles his thumbs until its time to head to america

But i just wanted to confirm what you said about infinity war lol, ive got the collection of comics from the whole "Infinity Saga", there's a pretty major character throughout the whole saga named "Adam Warlock", who has yet to truly arrive in the MCU, he's been teased at at the end of Guardians 2 tho, anyways the Saga goes :

-The Thanos Quest (i urge everybody to read this, its a fantastic Thanos context story) basically showing you how he gets the gems
-The Infinity Gauntlet (basically the "infinity war" movie but waaaay different lol)

Those 2 are basically what you need to see Thanos as a villain, the rest is:

-The Infinity War (Its ok, but its a story about Adam Warlocks evil doppelganger "The Magus" trying to get the gauntlet)
-The Infinity Crusade (about Warlocks "good" doppelganger "The Goddess", its terrible, pass)
-The Infinity Abyss (not the worst thing made, but feels like flimsy closure to the whole Infinity Saga, ...they have since fixed that with a new infinity saga, specifically re-imaginings of Thanos stories)

Have you read Infinity? I thought that the prime series was a good series (I didn't really bother with all the connected individual ones), and it introduced the Black Order. It's been a while but the story mostly focused on the main Avengers heading to space to stop the Builders while Thanos went to Earth eventually looking for his son. The Wakanda battle, the Outriders, Dr. Strange's torture were pretty much in this series. Too bad the Inhumans show was complete garbage as it woulda been cool to have Thanos throw down with Black Bolt like the comics.

It's going to be weird I think when Adam Warlock shows up. He was teased at the end of GOTG2 like you mentioned, but IW takes place 4 years after that. So, either Adam will be addressed in GOTG3 where it takes place before IW, or he's taking a long time to come out of his cocoon. The latter would especially be strange since the leader of that race creating Adam seemed quite bitter and vindictive and waiting 4 years for revenge doesn't seem to be her style.

I'm shocked anyone went to Venom let alone it grossing 80 million bucks. It looks like a terrible movie from the previews.

I went mostly because I didn't feel like watching Smallfoot with my kids. I sent them to that while my wife and I watched Venom next door. I know reviews were bad and trailers looked meh, but I was hoping to be "surprised". Jokes on me I guess. Still, I didn't think it was absolute trash, but watching it once is enough for me.

 

[A Loyal Dog]

And pre tell who do you think wins lol?

Green Book will win. Seen it twice, the audience LOVED it both times, and it's truly a great film.

The other nominees will be:
A Star is Born
If Beale Street Could Talk
First Man
BlacKkKlansman
The Favourite
Roma
Black Panther

 

[Redux91]

Have you read Infinity? I thought that the prime series was a good series (I didn't really bother with all the connected individual ones), and it introduced the Black Order. It's been a while but the story mostly focused on the main Avengers heading to space to stop the Builders while Thanos went to Earth eventually looking for his son. The Wakanda battle, the Outriders, Dr. Strange's torture were pretty much in this series. Too bad the Inhumans show was complete garbage as it woulda been cool to have Thanos throw down with Black Bolt like the comics.

It's going to be weird I think when Adam Warlock shows up. He was teased at the end of GOTG2 like you mentioned, but IW takes place 4 years after that. So, either Adam will be addressed in GOTG3 where it takes place before IW, or he's taking a long time to come out of his cocoon. The latter would especially be strange since the leader of that race creating Adam seemed quite bitter and vindictive and waiting 4 years for revenge doesn't seem to be her style.

Just got all the new Thanos stuff including Infinity, have yet to read it all tho!

Yeah not sure how they will handle the Warlock stuff either, seems to me Captain Marvel is their choice for the one who will save the day in IW2 not Warlock (tho there is a super secret spoiler to who actually does save the day in the comics lol), I hope we do see he character one day tho, could very well be guardians 3

Also they say Infinity War 2 opens up 5 years later after IW1, so maybe theres a chance for Warlock yet

 

[Redux91]

Green Book will win. Seen it twice, the audience LOVED it both times, and it's truly a great film.

The other nominees will be:
A Star is Born
If Beale Street Could Talk
First Man
BlacKkKlansman
The Favourite
Roma
Black Panther

I thought a star is born will be the darling of the oscars this year but i cant wait to see Green Book BIGtime, ..quick question is there comedy or dark humor in the film? as its supposedly directed by one of the Farrelly brothers lol from dum and dumber and something about mary

 

[Doublechin]

Green Book will win. Seen it twice, the audience LOVED it both times, and it's truly a great film.

The other nominees will be:
A Star is Born
If Beale Street Could Talk
First Man
BlacKkKlansman
The Favourite
Roma
Black Panther

I don't understand how anyone thinks Black Panthers deserves to be nominated for best picture, all others, no problem, BP was very very average!

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Well, its not Topher Grace tho lol.. its Tom Hardy ... he definitely brings something to the role others simply cant

there's 2-3 wince moments but you can say that about every movie..it was surprisingly solid all things considered honestly

In a perfect world, its inside the MCU and its rated R ... but we're just not there yet with sony and fox, but baby steps is better than 0, knowing full well a movie about venom in the MCU or having it rated R was so far away from the realm of possibility that to get anything at ALL to help forget the joke that was spiderman 3 was a huge treat, as Venom has always been a truly fascinating character

i thought they did a fantastic job, ESPECIALLY when you find out who they got for Carnage

I haven't seen it so I can't comment. I'm sure I'll see it someday on Netflix or something. When I do I'll let you know what I thought.

I don't understand how anyone thinks Black Panthers deserves to be nominated for best picture, all others, no problem, BP was very very average!

Agreed. It was one of the weakest Marvel entries as far as I'm concerned. Way too overhyped.

I went mostly because I didn't feel like watching Smallfoot with my kids. I sent them to that while my wife and I watched Venom next door. I know reviews were bad and trailers looked meh, but I was hoping to be "surprised". Jokes on me I guess. Still, I didn't think it was absolute trash, but watching it once is enough for me.

You didn't miss anything in regards to Smallfoot. Good call there.

 

[overlords]

I don't understand how anyone thinks Black Panthers deserves to be nominated for best picture, all others, no problem, BP was very very average!

Oh, yes you do.

 

[sandviper]

I thought a star is born will be the darling of the oscars this year but i cant wait to see Green Book BIGtime, ..quick question is there comedy or dark humor in the film? as its supposedly directed by one of the Farrelly brothers lol from dum and dumber and something about mary

Yeah, Green Book is very high on my list. I am a big fan of both Mortensen and Ali. I wouldn’t say there is dark humour but rather would classify this as a dramady. Basically, a serious movie with comedic moments in it. Definitely not typical Farrelly brothers fare.

 

[sandviper]

I don't understand how anyone thinks Black Panthers deserves to be nominated for best picture, all others, no problem, BP was very very average!

For a comic book movie, BP was kinda progressive but yeah, it being in the running for best picture is like when Ghost was nominated back in the 90s. Maybe not that bad, but I have a feeling A Star is Born is going to clean up. I am planning to see Bohemian Rhapsody though which looks pretty epic also.

 

[A Loyal Dog]

I thought a star is born will be the darling of the oscars this year but i cant wait to see Green Book BIGtime, ..quick question is there comedy or dark humor in the film? as its supposedly directed by one of the Farrelly brothers lol from dum and dumber and something about mary

It's hilarious throughout. More comedic than dramatic IMO.

 

[A Loyal Dog]

I don't understand how anyone thinks Black Panthers deserves to be nominated for best picture, all others, no problem, BP was very very average!

Major cultural event. Huge blockbuster. I agree with you, but it is what it is.

 

[le_sean]

I thought a star is born will be the darling of the oscars this year but i cant wait to see Green Book BIGtime, ..quick question is there comedy or dark humor in the film? as its supposedly directed by one of the Farrelly brothers lol from dum and dumber and something about mary

I don’t get how you can remake a movie for a third time and still be eligible to win awards (in regards to a Star is Born). How many times do we need to see the same thing?

 

[Kimota]

I don’t know much about the characters other than who they were and basic powers. However, you make valid points and like you, though maybe not as harsh, I wasn’t thrilled with the movie. Seems except for rare occasions, like Wonder Woman and Deadpool (as well as a couple X-men/Wolverine movies), only the MCU is rather consistent. They’ve had duds also, but mostly they had good movies.

I mentioned in another post but one problem was history and backstory. Comics can go issues upon issues building a character whereas a movie gets 90 minutes to a couple hours. Also, sometimes comic concepts or powers just don’t translate to film well. That said, credit to Deadpool to making Domino work, even if they joked about it as well.

Back on topic, yeah, the jelly effect for Venom was weird. I also felt Hardy was wasted as Eddie. He’s such a great actor but he just comes off whiny and incompetent in this movie. Also, while there were some good sequences in the final battle, it felt anticlimactic since Venom and Riot finally confronted one another at the launch, and the fight was done under 5 minutes. There was no build up during the movie and the fight sorta just happened and that was it.

Anyhow, I didn’t hate it enough to skip on the sequel which I do have some hope for if Carnage is the big bad.

They should at least have Eddie make a transformation in his character becoming more sinister showing that he becomes more like the symbiote. Not only they don't do that but they somehow make it seem like the alien is a "good" alien that wants to fight the bad alien and Eddie's symbiote even goes "I like this girl" talking about his girlfriend. What is that? might as well cut the balls off the character. Man that Venom is a p***y.

Speaking of the girlfriend, that was not an appealing part for Michelle Williams. notwithstanding the bad wig, she just left Eddie and she's like pratically married to the other guy. Also was I the only one that was disappointed by the death of the female scientist? She would have been a good love interest for Eddie going forward, maybe helping him with his condition.

And you are right just came out of nowhere. A lot of situations in the movie felt rushed and not earned.

Finally Carnage, I like Woody but i don't know to me I would have prefered if Carnage would have been a lesser known actor that needs a break. Woody is in freaking everything. God knows there are a lot of great character-actor outthere that would have fit the bill. Like Alphie Allen.

 

[Runner77]

Just took in the high-wire act that was the anniversary edition of Bill Maher's Real Time show, this evening.

They've cobbled together many of the best segments and comebackers from Maher's 25 years on television and had several of his high profile guests, including rabid viewers of his show like Barbara Streisand and Larry David, provided a lot of astute soundbytes.

Maher does a unique brand of comedy, it's not just irreverent, it's groundbreaking and being able to be at the forefront of news satire over so many years, is astonishing. It's something that is tough to do -- and requires a lot of moxy to face an audience and guests like he does. And it never gets stale.

I missed his Politically Incorrect days but caught up quick with Real Time. There are plenty of clips from the Politically Incorrect show, mullets and all -- and even then, he showed an uncanny ability for repartee and smart, on the spot analysis.

I have no dog in the US fight between their political parties and don't care about where Maher leans or what his guests stand for. All I am looking for is intelligent, compelling exchanges on serious subjects for the most part and enjoying how Maher peppers any segment with a witty, potty-mouthed remark that appears to come out of left field but is very much grounded into what a lot of people are really thinking but are afraid to say outloud.

Maher is a maverick when it comes to using comedy as a tool in such a charged arena and being able to survive that for 25 years, week over week, says a lot about the man. And he hasn't relented -- the show tonight evoked how Maher spends 12-15 hours every week of a show, to refine and more clearly enunciate his closing 6 minute monologue on every show.

He's a consummate pro who got his first opportunity on stage from Larry David, made his debut on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and who has continued to actively do stand-up on a regular basis, even as he's hosting his show. Tonight's highlights underscored the foregoing.

I attended one of his stand-up shows in Montreal, it was at the St-Denis Theatre a few years ago. I remember how his opening remark was about how there are so many streets and buildings named after saints, he couldn't get over it. And he charged on alone, armed only with a chair, a mic and a few bottles of water. They played his Real Time theme when he entered the stage and the rest of the evening was exactly what he did on his show, except that there were no guests and nor did he take questions from the audience. It was a couple of hours's worth of a monologue.

I didn't enjoy his live show because I had heard most of the material before and also because there was no one to challenge him as his forte is having someone there who holds diametrically opposed views or who is so absurd that Maher will rip into them hard -- and then there is that one second where you don't know where the interview is headed. And oddly, it always works -- he manages to get a laugh from the person he rips into with impunity, right in their face. I've enjoyed this kind of exchange for the whole of Real Time's existence and have always looked forward to his New Rules -- one of the best comedy bits on TV.

I know Maher may not be everyone's cup of tea on account of some of the views he holds and his own shameless involvement in one of the parties (he donated a million dollars towards helping the Democrats win the Senate), but as a non-US citizen, that doesn't faze me. I don't get involved in his politics or those of his guests -- I have enough just trying to handle the quagmire of Canadian politics.

I will however absolutely gravitate toward any show that involves a smart free thinker who tackles a variety of topical subjects no matter how controversial and who is able to use the power of comedy to string it all together.

If you've never watched the show, or if you'd like to get an overview of several of his best moments over the last 25 years, his Real Time anniversary show will be replaying all week on HBO.

 

[Mario Lemieux fan 66]

jules and jim : 7.8/10 very good movie.

Daredevil season 3 : 7.3/10

Shoot the Piano Player: 7/10

 

[Per Sjoblom]

Just took in the high-wire act that was the anniversary edition of Bill Maher's Real Time show, this evening.

They've cobbled together many of the best segments and comebackers from Maher's 25 years on television and had several of his high profile guests, including rabid viewers of his show like Barbara Streisand and Larry David, provided a lot of astute soundbytes.

Maher does a unique brand of comedy, it's not just irreverent, it's groundbreaking and being able to be at the forefront of news satire over so many years, is astonishing. It's something that is tough to do -- and requires a lot of moxy to face an audience and guests like he does. And it never gets stale.

I missed his Politically Incorrect days but caught up quick with Real Time. There are plenty of clips from the Politically Incorrect show, mullets and all -- and even then, he showed an uncanny ability for repartee and smart, on the spot analysis.

I have no dog in the US fight between their political parties and don't care about where Maher leans or what his guests stand for. All I am looking for is intelligent, compelling exchanges on serious subjects for the most part and enjoying how Maher peppers any segment with a witty, potty-mouthed remark that appears to come out of left field but is very much grounded into what a lot of people are really thinking but are afraid to say outloud.

Maher is a maverick when it comes to using comedy as a tool in such a charged arena and being able to survive that for 25 years, week over week, says a lot about the man. And he hasn't relented -- the show tonight evoked how Maher spends 12-15 hours every week of a show, to refine and more clearly enunciate his closing 6 minute monologue on every show.

He's a consummate pro who got his first opportunity on stage from Larry David, made his debut on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and who has continued to actively do stand-up on a regular basis, even as he's hosting his show. Tonight's highlights underscored the foregoing.

I attended one of his stand-up shows in Montreal, it was at the St-Denis Theatre a few years ago. I remember how his opening remark was about how there are so many streets and buildings named after saints, he couldn't get over it. And he charged on alone, armed only with a chair, a mic and a few bottles of water. They played his Real Time theme when he entered the stage and the rest of the evening was exactly what he did on his show, except that there were no guests and nor did he take questions from the audience. It was a couple of hours's worth of a monologue.

I didn't enjoy his live show because I had heard most of the material before and also because there was no one to challenge him as his forte is having someone there who holds diametrically opposed views or who is so absurd that Maher will rip into them hard -- and then there is that one second where you don't know where the interview is headed. And oddly, it always works -- he manages to get a laugh from the person he rips into with impunity, right in their face. I've enjoyed this kind of exchange for the whole of Real Time's existence and have always looked forward to his New Rules -- one of the best comedy bits on TV.

I know Maher may not be everyone's cup of tea on account of some of the views he holds and his own shameless involvement in one of the parties (he donated a million dollars towards helping the Democrats win the Senate), but as a non-US citizen, that doesn't faze me. I don't get involved in his politics or those of his guests -- I have enough just trying to handle the quagmire of Canadian politics.

I will however absolutely gravitate toward any show that involves a smart free thinker who tackles a variety of topical subjects no matter how controversial and who is able to use the power of comedy to string it all together.

If you've never watched the show, or if you'd like to get an overview of several of his best moments over the last 25 years, his Real Time anniversary show will be replaying all week on HBO.

I love his film Religulous.