Random Movie Thoughts Thread

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Wonka looks like garbage, don't get me wrong. I don't want to know the origins of his character and I hated when Tim Burton did it. I prefer him to remain mysterious (which we all know is not allowed).

I wouldn't mind a movie about the origins of Carmen Sandiego, though. How did she get involved in stealing monuments? How did she grow her operation, and how does she run it now?

This is something I'm actually curious about. I would actually like to see these questions answered.

 

[Totenkindly]

Wonka looks like garbage, don't get me wrong. I don't want to know the origins of his character and I hated when Tim Burton did it. I prefer him to remain mysterious (which we all know is not allowed).

I don't really feel like they had a story to tell and/or the story is rather pointless. It just feels like a cash grab honestly, and the trailer isn't helping since it's just a rehash of stuff we've seen him do as an adult. Like, I don't care. At best I'll watch this out of curiosity when it hits free streaming, unless it has exceptional reviews (which is unexpected).

I wouldn't mind a movie about the origins of Carmen Sandiego, though. How did she get involved in stealing monuments? How did she grow her operation, and how does she run it now? This is something I'm actually curious about. I would actually like to see these questions answered.

I was too old to naturally watch that show when it came out. Did it ever get into her backstory? I'm not familiar with whether it developed her ever as a character or just was the device it used to teach things.

 

[Totenkindly]

Watched The Departed again last night. I really enjoyed it the first time I saw it. I still find it enjoyable, just doesn't seem as complex/many layered as some of Scorcese's films, and not as enjoyable on second watch despite being just fine. Jack Nicholson is just running away with the film effortlessly. Vera Farmiga is kind of wasted (as an actress, not drunk lol) in her role and her accent I *think* is kind of all over the place. I don't remember much accent from DiCaprio, I don't even think he bothered; Matt Damon is using probably whatever he used from Good Will Hunting, just more accentuated. It's easy to understand why Costigan is breaking down over time, being Costello's such a nutjob and prone to doing anything -- you won't know you're due for the chopper until it just happens, and he has no compunctions about avoiding needless bloodshed. The cat-and-mouse of both informants trying to find the other, so as they both get closer to discovering the other they also are getting closer to being discovered themselves, is pretty harrowing at times.

There's a number of decent character actors used in this film. Also, Mark Wahlberg is just relentless; he's annoying as crap except you realize that he's the only guy who isn't screwing someone else over behind their back or pretending to be something he's not -- despite being in everyone's face, he's exactly what he projects himself to be, and by the film's end that is kind of refreshing.

I think the last 20-30 minutes is crazy and rather unexpected; the shocks there are one thing that kicks the film over the edge.

I actually own Criterion's version of Infernal Affairs 1 & 2, so I can pop those in and take a look.

 

[The Cat]

Watched The Departed again last night. I really enjoyed it the first time I saw it. I still find it enjoyable, just doesn't seem as complex/many layered as some of Scorcese's films, and not as enjoyable on second watch despite being just fine. Jack Nicholson is just running away with the film effortlessly. Vera Farmiga is kind of wasted (as an actress, not drunk lol) in her role and her accent I *think* is kind of all over the place. I don't remember much accent from DiCaprio, I don't even think he bothered; Matt Damon is using probably whatever he used from Good Will Hunting, just more accentuated. It's easy to understand why Costigan is breaking down over time, being Costello's such a nutjob and prone to doing anything -- you won't know you're due for the chopper until it just happens, and he has no compunctions about avoiding needless bloodshed. The cat-and-mouse of both informants trying to find the other, so as they both get closer to discovering the other they also are getting closer to being discovered themselves, is pretty harrowing at times.

There's a number of decent character actors used in this film. Also, Mark Wahlberg is just relentless; he's annoying as crap except you realize that he's the only guy who isn't screwing someone else over behind their back or pretending to be something he's not -- despite being in everyone's face, he's exactly what he projects himself to be, and by the film's end that is kind of refreshing.

I think the last 20-30 minutes is crazy and rather unexpected; the shocks there are one thing that kicks the film over the edge.

I actually own Criterion's version of Infernal Affairs 1 & 2, so I can pop those in and take a look.

X marks the spot.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I don't really feel like they had a story to tell and/or the story is rather pointless. It just feels like a cash grab honestly, and the trailer isn't helping since it's just a rehash of stuff we've seen him do as an adult.

I definitely noticed that. This is why I've come to hate these kinds of movies. They do not allow anything about the original to be left to the imagination and need to explain everything, regardless of whether it needed explaining or not. Creativity is not part of the picture (although I actually do like the production design of Wonka).

In Wonka I'm certain we're going to get the origin of Fizzy Lifting drinks as well as the tragic backstory behind why he doesn't want anyone touching them. I don't really want to learn any of those things.

I was too old to naturally watch that show when it came out. Did it ever get into her backstory? I'm not familiar with whether it developed her ever as a character or just was the device it used to teach things.

I somewhat joking when I wrote that but I do agree with the basic premise I established. I'm not sure if I remember a TV show when I was younger or not. What I remember were the computer games. I remember playing them on some sort of Apple II. There, the character was just a device to teach things, which is why I think making a prequel movie could actually work. As an adult the idea of monument theft strikes me as a comical and bizarre premise, so trying to come up with something so it fits in some larger world and "explain" that could actually be entertaining.

It looks like there was an animated series more recently, and talk of a live action movie that seems stuck in development hell.

 

[Totenkindly]

In Wonka I'm certain we're going to get the origin of Fizzy Lifting drinks as well as the tragic backstory behind why he doesn't want anyone touching them. I don't really want to learn any of those things.

Yeah, I saw some mention of chocolate that can make people fly, and I'm like, "well, we already know fizzy lifting drinks is still being perfected years later, so I guess that either didn't work or this film is throwing continuity to the wind.

 

[Red Herring]

I somewhat joking when I wrote that but I do agree with the basic premise I established. I'm not sure if I remember a TV show when I was younger or not. What I remember were the computer games. I remember playing them on some sort of Apple II. There, the character was just a device to teach things, which is why I think making a prequel movie could actually work. As an adult the idea of monument theft strikes me as a comical and bizarre premise, so trying to come up with something so it fits in some larger world and "explain" that could actually be entertaining.

It looks like there was an animated series more recently, and talk of a live action movie that seems stuck in development hell.

There even were a few Carmen Sandiego comics by DC in the mid-90s. In the single digits, but coming out just as I was living in the US as a foreign exchange student. I bought one out of curiosity (I had never heard of the game) and really liked it. They're funny and have that golden age animation aesthetic. I even tried to get the other three or four volumes decades later over the internet.

 

[Totenkindly]

Oh come on. When is this ever a good idea?

The Next Stephen King Movie Is Making The Same Mistake As A 2023 Box Office Failure

King's next film has the same issue as a 2023 dud.

screenrant.com

 

[Tomb1]

I re-watched Scarface. I love Scarface. That movie never gets boring to me due to my inherent greed. Just a great movie. "Say hello to my little friend!"

 

[Totenkindly]

So I finally saw the live action of The Little Mermaid today. Thoughts:

• Too long (2 hrs 15 min) - I dunno why Disney insists on expanding their 90 min animated films by more than 15-20 additional minutes.
• Halle Bailey was totally fine and even decent in the role. That was such a manufactured debate, there are many other things to discuss about this film that don't involve criticizing a young black woman before her performance was ever released, and after the fact it's clear she was never a problem but actually one of the better parts of this film.
• More surprising was how flat and lifeless Bardem and McCarthy's performances were in the FIRST half of this film. In fact, the first half 1:15 of the film lacks a lot of zing and feels consistently "less than." The performances do not pop, everyone seems like they've been sedated. I was really dreading sitting through two hours of this but fortunately the second half picked up a lot.
• Despite the director actually having made Chicago (which won the BP Oscar, although I thought other films were more deserving) and some other decent show adaptations, I have to blame him + the possibility of too much CGI / isolated performance recording for the lifeless first half of the film. I wouldn't be surprised to know that none of the actors were on set together and they weren't directed well enough to pop the right emotions and/or juice them up. You can't flatten out the characters of this film, it was WRITTEN as a show/musical and they need to pop. This is the most lifeless I've seen McCarthy. Bardem was tons better just in Skyfall, let alone films he won any awards for.
• Ariel is no longer headstrong or somewhat dumb -- she actually uses her smarts a number of times to solve problems, and she even shows some restraint/caution in places where cartoon Ariel didn't think twice. I'm not sure this always worked, it definitely felt like she wouldn't have even gone into Ursula's lair originally, tbh. And the flatness I mentioned diminished a lot of the active agency of the characters. But overall Ariel has more agency, especially in the resolution of the Ursula conflict including getting her voice back.
• Eric is actually more of Ariel's counterpart rather than just a flaky boy toy; she is fascinated by the land, he is fascinated by the sea. One of the best moments is when Ariel discovers Eric's private library/museum, and it very much mirrors Ariel's secret nook of treasures in the spatial layout and the contents, it's just the land version and hers was underwater. The film portrays them as like souls in a world where neither feels they fit in much, and it's far more understandable why they might legitimately fall for each other.
• Grimsby also is more perceptive and a source of wisdom for Eric.
• The first unexpected "wow" moment I experienced is when Ariel gets to the castle, she's being dressed, someone is fetching Eric, and there's a song with her voice playing but she's not singing because well she has no voice... and as Eric is rushing to see if she's his "mystery woman" and the music builds, the camera spins around Ariel and when you see her face, you now do see her singing because you're inside her head. And this whole scene just builds until it crashes at Eric's disappointment when the camera eventually spins and he bursts into the room to see the girl who is not singing out loud (but is singing inside). At this point, Eric and Ariel start building a friendship with shared interests, and you realize they are suited for each other, and the film becomes much better.
• The confrontation with Ursula is a little lame at the end but the film is much better at that stage overall, and it ends really nicely.
• I really wish the first half of the film had been better; it went from a marginal 3/5 to maybe a 3.5/5 overall with the last hour.
• It's really weird, but the new music was the same way. I thought the Scuttlebutt song was actually okay (my attitude is neutral on it), but the earlier new songs felt like Broadway noise. Like, let's just finish the singing and move on with the story, and I won't remember this song's melody 2 minutes later.
• Disney would do better adapting stories without much CGI if possible. They don't know how to direct the performances when they aren't unfolding naturally on the screen. it seems to be a regular issue.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

So I finally saw the live action of The Little Mermaid today. Thoughts:

• Too long (2 hrs 15 min) - I dunno why Disney insists on expanding their 90 min animated films by more than 15-20 additional minutes.
• Halle Bailey was totally fine and even decent in the role. That was such a manufactured debate, there are many other things to discuss about this film that don't involve criticizing a young black woman before her performance was ever released, and after the fact it's clear she was never a problem but actually one of the better parts of this film.
• More surprising was how flat and lifeless Bardem and McCarthy's performances were in the FIRST half of this film. In fact, the first half 1:15 of the film lacks a lot of zing and feels consistently "less than." The performances do not pop, everyone seems like they've been sedated. I was really dreading sitting through two hours of this but fortunately the second half picked up a lot.
• Despite the director actually having made Chicago (which won the BP Oscar, although I thought other films were more deserving) and some other decent show adaptations, I have to blame him + the possibility of too much CGI / isolated performance recording for the lifeless first half of the film. I wouldn't be surprised to know that none of the actors were on set together and they weren't directed well enough to pop the right emotions and/or juice them up. You can't flatten out the characters of this film, it was WRITTEN as a show/musical and they need to pop. This is the most lifeless I've seen McCarthy. Bardem was tons better just in Skyfall, let alone films he won any awards for.
• Ariel is no longer headstrong or somewhat dumb -- she actually uses her smarts a number of times to solve problems, and she even shows some restraint/caution in places where cartoon Ariel didn't think twice. I'm not sure this always worked, it definitely felt like she wouldn't have even gone into Ursula's lair originally, tbh. And the flatness I mentioned diminished a lot of the active agency of the characters. But overall Ariel has more agency, especially in the resolution of the Ursula conflict including getting her voice back.
• Eric is actually more of Ariel's counterpart rather than just a flaky boy toy; she is fascinated by the land, he is fascinated by the sea. One of the best moments is when Ariel discovers Eric's private library/museum, and it very much mirrors Ariel's secret nook of treasures in the spatial layout and the contents, it's just the land version and hers was underwater. The film portrays them as like souls in a world where neither feels they fit in much, and it's far more understandable why they might legitimately fall for each other.
• Grimsby also is more perceptive and a source of wisdom for Eric.
• The first unexpected "wow" moment I experienced is when Ariel gets to the castle, she's being dressed, someone is fetching Eric, and there's a song with her voice playing but she's not singing because well she has no voice... and as Eric is rushing to see if she's his "mystery woman" and the music builds, the camera spins around Ariel and when you see her face, you now do see her singing because you're inside her head. And this whole scene just builds until it crashes at Eric's disappointment when the camera eventually spins and he bursts into the room to see the girl who is not singing out loud (but is singing inside). At this point, Eric and Ariel start building a friendship with shared interests, and you realize they are suited for each other, and the film becomes much better.
• The confrontation with Ursula is a little lame at the end but the film is much better at that stage overall, and it ends really nicely.
• I really wish the first half of the film had been better; it went from a marginal 3/5 to maybe a 3.5/5 overall with the last hour.
• It's really weird, but the new music was the same way. I thought the Scuttlebutt song was actually okay (my attitude is neutral on it), but the earlier new songs felt like Broadway noise. Like, let's just finish the singing and move on with the story, and I won't remember this song's melody 2 minutes later.
• Disney would do better adapting stories without much CGI if possible. They don't know how to direct the performances when they aren't unfolding naturally on the screen. it seems to be a regular issue.

You know I wonder if we'll ever see a faithful adaptation of the original story. Probably not, certainly not by Disney. That's a much more tragic story.

 

[Totenkindly]

You know I wonder if we'll ever see a faithful adaptation of the original story. Probably not, certainly not by Disney. That's a much more tragic story.

Yeah. I guess I should say this is an adaptation of their 1989 adaptation. It would be pretty cool to see an actual retelling of the original, it's pretty heroic from the mermaid's perspective in terms of her own moral struggles in the end.

(If you care, there's a Criterion release of a film called "The Lure" -- I think it's polish in origin? -- about mermaids that more closely follows the original story but just in modern times. Everything ends pretty badly, lol. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lure_(2015_film))

The fairy tales in general were typically darker, including Anderson's. I mean, Fantasia 2000 had a happy ending to The Steadfast Tin Soldier -- but in Anderson's version, it's the tin soldier and the ballerina who burn in the fire, leaving a small tin heart behind with ash.

So what does that say about the two different cultures/time periods? It's interesting to think about. Why do we always insist on a happy ending? Although not all the old stories had sad endings. Beauty & The Beast ended well.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Yeah. I guess I should say this is an adaptation of their 1989 adaptation. It would be pretty cool to see an actual retelling of the original, it's pretty heroic from the mermaid's perspective in terms of her own moral struggles in the end.

(If you care, there's a Criterion release of a film called "The Lure" -- I think it's polish in origin? -- about mermaids that more closely follows the original story but just in modern times. Everything ends pretty badly, lol. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lure_(2015_film))

This movie sounds really cool. Maybe I should place it on a double bill with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptirica which seems to be some kind of a vampire movie.

The fairy tales in general were typically darker, including Anderson's. I mean, Fantasia 2000 had a happy ending to The Steadfast Tin Soldier -- but in Anderson's version, it's the tin soldier and the ballerina who burn in the fire, leaving a small tin heart behind with ash.

So what does that say about the two different cultures/time periods? It's interesting to think about. Why do we always insist on a happy ending? Although not all the old stories had sad endings. Beauty & The Beast ended well.

I don't know, but I wonder if it has something to with the fact that things over there (like buildings, for instance), tend to be older, and if that imparts a more melancholy perspective.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

There even were a few Carmen Sandiego comics by DC in the mid-90s. In the single digits, but coming out just as I was living in the US as a foreign exchange student. I bought one out of curiosity (I had never heard of the game) and really liked it. They're funny and have that golden age animation aesthetic. I even tried to get the other three or four volumes decades later over the internet.

The idea of the game was that you'd have to figure out where she was using a few clues and knowledge of things like geography. I enjoyed it a lot when I was six. And I remember now, they were Apple IIGS because I remembered reading it on the boot-up screen. I have a really weird memory for things like that.

Where did you live when you were a foreign exchange student? (As in, what city?)

I also wonder what the world's toughest yogurt bar is like. That's got to be a pretty tough crowd.

 

[Totenkindly]

I don't think this fits tonally with the franchise, but it is amusing to consider.

8 Top Gun Details That Prove Maverick Is Actually Dead In The 2022 Sequel

Was Maverick really dead in Top Gun 2?

screenrant.com

 

[Totenkindly]

Highlander's Franchise Plans Prove The Reboot Is In Good Hands

Highlander reboot is setting up the series' future

screenrant.com

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Disney Announces John C. Reilly Will Star in ‘The Guy That Shoots Bambi's Mom’ Series

John C. Reilly is set to star in the upcoming series, The Guy That Shoots Bambi’s Mom, which will premiere on Disney+ sometime next fall.

hard-drive.net

“I can’t help but think that fleshing out the most traumatizing moment of entertainment from a lot of people’s lives is nothing but a cynical cash grab, but then again, they’re making this thing with or without me, so pew pew!”

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I forgot how funny this moment was. Why was this even in the movie? That being said I prefer the other movie with the "filmed at a Renaissance festival vibe", Deathstalker. David Warner is a great actor, but we get so much more scenery chewing from Thom Christopher. He does the same thing in Wizards of the Lost Kingdom.

The Christmas Dragon from season 13 has Renaissance festival vibes, too, but it seems like not many people have seen it. It's the only Christmas movie I've seen where characters travel throughout the landscape in what appears to be June. They must have known how it would look, so I'm curious about why we have these characters going on their harrowing winter journey in the most verdant foliage I've ever seen. Undercuts the theme of magic beijg gone when everything looks like an elven glade, also.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Watched The Departed again last night. I really enjoyed it the first time I saw it. I still find it enjoyable, just doesn't seem as complex/many layered as some of Scorcese's films, and not as enjoyable on second watch despite being just fine. Jack Nicholson is just running away with the film effortlessly. Vera Farmiga is kind of wasted (as an actress, not drunk lol) in her role and her accent I *think* is kind of all over the place. I don't remember much accent from DiCaprio, I don't even think he bothered; Matt Damon is using probably whatever he used from Good Will Hunting, just more accentuated. It's easy to understand why Costigan is breaking down over time, being Costello's such a nutjob and prone to doing anything -- you won't know you're due for the chopper until it just happens, and he has no compunctions about avoiding needless bloodshed. The cat-and-mouse of both informants trying to find the other, so as they both get closer to discovering the other they also are getting closer to being discovered themselves, is pretty harrowing at times.

There's a number of decent character actors used in this film. Also, Mark Wahlberg is just relentless; he's annoying as crap except you realize that he's the only guy who isn't screwing someone else over behind their back or pretending to be something he's not -- despite being in everyone's face, he's exactly what he projects himself to be, and by the film's end that is kind of refreshing.

I think the last 20-30 minutes is crazy and rather unexpected; the shocks there are one thing that kicks the film over the edge.

I actually own Criterion's version of Infernal Affairs 1 & 2, so I can pop those in and take a look.

I remember when I first saw this movie, I didn't think I would like it because it wasn't a genre movie (I was pretty dumb). But I ended up liking it quite a but.