Random Movie Thoughts Thread

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

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Has he even seen that movie? Some real gold in the comments section of that thread.

The main takeaway is he’s such a phony. Dude has claimed to be a major science fiction buff yet doesn’t seem to have seen a film that’s basically science fiction fan 101 required viewing. This is worse than Obama’s “Jedi Mind Meld” gaffe

Jedi Mind Meld? Somehow I missed that.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

Jedi Mind Meld? Somehow I missed that.

it was some gaffe he made while president and people tried to roast him for it. I didn't really mind, I don't expect him to be some uber geek who is super familiar with sci-fi and fantasy lore, and he never pretended to be that in the first place. It was kind of endearing in a dorky dad sort of way.

What makes it annoying with Musk is that he has in the past presented himself as some sort of king of the geeks who knos and loves science fiction, but he's really just an opportunistic grifter

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

it was some gaffe he made while president and people tried to roast him for it.

It took me a while to parse together what the error was. It's Star Trek + Star Wars. It's an easy enough mistake to make, I think.

It does remind me a little of those bad memes I'm sick of with something like a picture of Picard saying "use the Force, Harry". Those I'm getting sick of. It's basically repeating this kind of gaffe and thinking it's the height of comedy.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

The opportunisitc grifter thing has become quite clear to me lately.

It took me a while to parse together what the error was. It's Star Trek + Star Wars. It's an easy enough mistake to make, I think.

It does remind me a little of those bad memes I'm sick of with something like a picture of Picard saying "use the Force, Harry". Those I'm getting sick of. It's basically repeating this kind of gaffe and thinking it's the height of comedy.

yeah, those were funny for like a minute but got old pretty fast.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

The worst episode of Seinfeld apart from the finale is the one where they draw eyebrows on Uncle Leo, and the doctor thinks he's peeved off. That was pretty dumb.

 

[Totenkindly]

The worst episode of Seinfeld apart from the finale is the one where they draw eyebrows on Uncle Leo, and the doctor thinks he's peeved off. That was pretty dumb.

I dunno, man.... I cracked up hearing you describe it again.

 

[The Cat]

The worst episode of Seinfeld apart from the finale is the one where they draw eyebrows on Uncle Leo, and the doctor thinks he's peeved off. That was pretty dumb.

 

[Totenkindly]

Rewatched MI: Dead Reckoning p1 today at home.

I think it's better on second viewing. I think aside from some decent old-school set pieces (and you know the stunts are real -- another draw), the best thing they did was make the AI a major player in its own fate and really driving the plot. It's actually the "man behind the curtain" and it ties into the title of "dead reckoning" which is basically a mechanics issue -- calculating where something is now based on quantifiable data describing it in the past, which is in part what the AI is doing with advanced computations involving more complex and nuanced variables (namely human behavior and instinct).

There's also quite a pun there, considering the opening scene that leaves the entire sub "dead in the water" and the entire crew dead as well, which is a reckoning of what happens when humans expect to be able to use and abuse AI [note what the initial plan for this AI was, by the US gov]. So the title itself is pretty great in how it describes the film.

I don't think it was such a stretch to understand why Ethan put such emphasis on Grace's life. He's always had a woman issue w/ needing to protect them, but more importantly there's enough in the film to portray Grace not as a bad person necessarily, just one who got set on a hard road, and who now is enmeshed in forces beyond her control that will likely get her killed regardless of what she does... and there's something unstated about how Ethan and the others view her as "in the same place they were" before the IMF gave their life some kind of meaning and brought them together as a family. She also has multiple chances to end Ethan but does not, necessarily -- the scene where she strands him in the yellow car while giving him a way to potentially escape seems truly apologetic, it's more about a product of her life and inability to trust anyone, and much of the film builds up trust between the two of them until the final moments of the film. It's kind of hard-won, and it's mainly because despite what others say about Ethan, he comes through for her time and time again when he promises he will, at great risk and cost to himself. It's just how he is.

A side thing: The women in this film seemed tuned into each other when the men are focused on tasks at hand. Grace and Ilsa seem to sync up / cover for each other, and Alanna's plight seems better understood (about how she's pretty much screwed no matter what she does) by Grace and Ilsa, and at the end Ethan is focused on the next task at hand once they escape the falling cars and only Grace notices that Paris has been badly hurt. Is there a secret women's club here? It's just interesting the men seem more oblivious at times. Ethan has a women problem to some degree, but the women themselves seem to grasp themselves better or at least more aware of each other.

About Paris:

Talk about self-fulfilling prophecies. I think Paris scans as an assassin who simply enjoys what she does and it's nothing personal, she takes great joy in the hunt and chase. She's actually scared when she realizes she lost to Ethan and at his mercy, and instead of killing her, he shows his frustration and leaves her behind. Just like either Hunt or Faust says to White Widow when they are discussing the key -- "the person you give the key to will be in your debt, and everyone else will want to kill you" -- Hunt gives Paris her life and this leaves an opening where she might feel indebted towards him. But ironically, this might not have happened except the AI decides that it WOULD happen and so preemptively has Gabriel leave Paris for dead, badly wounded... and this makes her decision for her. The AI and Gabriel used her, then tried to off her when they had no more use -- which sets up the betrayal that the AI anticipated, because then Paris saves Hunt and Grace's lives + gives Ethan the information about what the key is used FOR, which blows the end game open. And it's because she's realized that Ethan is NOT going to kill aside from necessity and also can be trusted to not turn on his friends.

Except...

What if the AI wanted this to happen for some reason, so it also set this chain of events in play? We just don't know when Ethan or the AI has outthought itself and when everything is playing according to plan. I guess we'll find out in part 2.

But it's clear Paris' role is not done, the film explicitly calls out that she's still alive at the film's end.

About Ilsa:

This is my biggest problem with the film and why I did not like it as much. Maybe the filmmakers were too close or acquainted with the plotting to realize the emotional impact of their decisions, but on first view it honestly feels like "Oh, Ilsa's plot arc has been reset from the end of MI:Fallout, now she's been on her own AGAIN for some bizarre reason; and oh wait, we will fake her death in the film's beginning and she will disappear... except wait, she's coming back for twenty minutes just to conveniently die to allow Grace's character to take her place... because Ilsa is just another Hunt-type character and we really want a woman with larceny and black market / shady skills on the team and we can't possibly have two women." The whole thing feels cold, calculating, and completely disregarding Ilsa as a character and human being.

There is some talk that Ilsa is not dead. Having rewatched, I honestly don't see how that is possible -- and the film seems to suggest she really is, because Ethan flashes back through the dead women in his past right before fighting Gabriel on the train and Ilsa is there in his memories dead, which wouldn't be the case if he knew it was fake. Also, if it was a planned fakeout, they manipulated Grace to get her to join them, which would just be terrible and break her trust in Ethan because he would have been lying to her to manipulate her to help.

I didn't really see the fight as being faked, and Gabriel would be able to tell she was dead when he left her there.

So I feel like it was played straight. About the only thing I can credit them for is that Ilsa has been skirting death for a long time, and she was in hiding again but blatantly comes back to help out Ethan, they have a moment up on the roof looking at Venice (which neither have been in before) and it's clear they are bonded souls, and while Ethan tells Ilsa to run as far away as she can, it's really clear she has her own agency and is willing to die on her own terms. She and Ethan are professionals, Grace is not; they have an understanding between them and care about what each other cares about; and it's unknown what they talked about on the roof, especially regarding Grace. Ilsa chose to do what she died knowing probably what would happen, and there was just too much at stake otherwise.

I gotta hand it to Denlinger (Cary Elwes):

I take real pleasure in watching him trying to Machiavelli this whole thing with Gabriel, and he STILL doesn't see it coming when Gabriel asks a second time, "Are you SURE no one knows about this sub or its location in the whole world but you?" Jeez, dude, how did you get to be in charge and not realize the implications of the things you say? He honestly seems shocked that Gabriel just kills him on the spot.

 

[Totenkindly]

OMG lol.... I think Gollum and Legolas are a riot...

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

OMG lol.... I think Gollum and Legolas are a riot...

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Gollum is so wrong. The rest remind of Greek gods except for Elrond (I don't seem him wearing tats; on Gandalf it comes off as part of a magical ritual); and Boromir, whose proportions seem off and whose musculature seems over-inflated even for this.

 

[Totenkindly]

Yeah, Gandalf is casting Tenser's Transformation, roflmao

Legolas looks like Blonde Tarzan.

This whole thing looks like a pseudo pin-up calendar, "Men-Gods of Middle Earth 2024"

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I liked seeing the real Kramer and getting to her from him about his own reality tour. I knew the backstory of that one but I hadn't seen this footage. And of course, Zurella from Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders is in that episode (the one about the "Peterman Reality Tour"). It alway makes me excited when I catch an actor in a small part from some B-movie like that.

 

[Totenkindly]

So somehow my Spotify got on the track of movie musicals and started playing tracks from Les Miserables, which reminded me of two things: Anne Hathway winning Best Supporting Actress, but I'm still not really sure of how I feel about her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream," although she's a decent actress, and (2) how bad I thought Russell Crowe's singing voice was in comparison to everyone else, it was really clear they pulled him as a big name at the time and an actor but his singing was simply below par especially when he does his headlining "Stars."

And then wouldn't you know, but it cued up a song I forgot or didn't know existed: "If I Never Knew You" from Disney's Pocahontas. This was the song notoriously cut from the film in 1995 because little kids got bored during it, which is ironic because it's the emotional heart of the film IMO if they were set on this whole silly romance thing -- but apparently they finally added the scene in 10 years after release and added it to the 20th anniversary sound track.

I ended up watching a bit of the film last night (and not much more, because I couldn't stomach it -- besides the atrociously innaccurate history, the romantic angle between Smith and Pocahontas is just so bad in concept + also in visual execution, they're rubbing themselves all over each other like teenage kids in parts of this film), but found the clip they added in. I think one of the remarkable things about it is that despite how unsubstantial most of the film is, Alan Mencken's music (as typical) is the best thing about it, he's composing along with lyricist Stephen Schwartz here (of Godspell and Wicked fame). But also, unlike Russell Crowe (baritone), Mel Gibson actually can sing (tenor) to a degree that surprised me -- his voice has a nice timbre to it, he makes it sound effortless, and he actually has some decent range. Sigh, yeah -- Mel Gibson, with his OWN host of issues.

But musically I was happy to hear the song (the music is a bit stronger than some of the lyrics, it's pretty great) and there is this beautiful animated cut they put near the end that lines up with the lyric and seamlessly moves from sky to water -- simple in concept but handled perfectly and kind of jaw-dropping when it happens.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

So somehow my Spotify got on the track of movie musicals and started playing tracks from Les Miserables, which reminded me of two things: Anne Hathway winning Best Supporting Actress, but I'm still not really sure of how I feel about her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream," although she's a decent actress, and (2) how bad I thought Russell Crowe's singing voice was in comparison to everyone else, it was really clear they pulled him as a big name at the time and an actor but his singing was simply below par especially when he does his headlining "Stars."

Oh god, I remember eagerly anticipating hearing "Stars" in the movie, and then being so disappointed by Crowe's flat, lifeless rendition. This was one of my favorite songs on the stage show soundtrack (Terence Mann as Javert, I believe), and I couldn't believe how it was ruined. It brought to mind jokes on South Park about Crowe's singing ability (it causes his tugboat companion to commit suicide).

My other favorite is Do You Hear The People Sing (both versions), and thankfully it feels like by now the stench of it becoming associated with the MAGA moment has worn off.

 

[Totenkindly]

Oh god, I remember eagerly anticipating hearing "Stars" in the movie, and then being so disappointed by Crowe's flat, lifeless rendition. This was one of my favorite songs on the stage show soundtrack (Terence Mann as Javert, I believe), and I couldn't believe how it was ruined. It brought to mind jokes on South Park about Crowe's singing ability (it causes his tugboat companion to commit suicide).

lol... compilation of the last bars of Stars to compare voices, and it's got some decent lead singers + Crowe in the middle, he sounds like he's valiantly singing the middle school version with what little voice he has.

My other favorite is Do You Hear The People Sing (both versions), and thankfully it feels like by now the stench of it becoming associated with the MAGA moment has worn off.

eerkkkkk

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

lol... compilation of the last bars of Stars to compare voices, and it's got some decent lead singers + Crowe in the middle, he sounds like he's valiantly singing the middle school version with what little voice he has.

That video makes the whole thing perfectly clear. Everyone else is soaring through the heavens, and Crowe sounds like overcooked spaghetti.

eerkkkkk

Not sure how to interpret "eerkkkkk" , but I'm going to assume it's a synonym for "WUT?" at the moment. There was a moment where it was sort of a MAGA anthem. There was at least one poster here who used it in that way. And I've heard reports of this in other places as well.

There's a nonmusical version from 1998 with Liam Neeson and Claire Daines that I remember being pretty good.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

So somehow my Spotify got on the track of movie musicals and started playing tracks from Les Miserables, which reminded me of two things: Anne Hathway winning Best Supporting Actress, but I'm still not really sure of how I feel about her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream," although she's a decent actress, and (2) how bad I thought Russell Crowe's singing voice was in comparison to everyone else, it was really clear they pulled him as a big name at the time and an actor but his singing was simply below par especially when he does his headlining "Stars."

That movie is unusual when I think about it. There are many powerful moments but also things that don't work (I don't care for Master of the House here and I love Sacha Baron Cohen). The movie does seem like it holds together as a whole, but I'm wondering now if that's just due to the fact that it's an extremely moving story that is difficult to mess up. The more I think about it, the movie reminds me of the film adaptation of Cats (it shares a director). Les Miserables hold together a lot better than Cats, but then Cats has no story and is just cobbled together from some cat poetry T.S. Elliot wrote. Cats has one moving scene and the rest of it is just celebrities engaging in nonsense while subjected to some AI prompt that spits out an image showing what it would be like if they were cats. Oh, I think I also remember feeling bad for Idris Elba when he didn't win the Jellicle Ball, but I'm not sure if I was supposed to.

And then wouldn't you know, but it cued up a song I forgot or didn't know existed: "If I Never Knew You" from Disney's Pocahontas. This was the song notoriously cut from the film in 1995 because little kids got bored during it, which is ironic because it's the emotional heart of the film IMO if they were set on this whole silly romance thing -- but apparently they finally added the scene in 10 years after release and added it to the 20th anniversary sound track.

I ended up watching a bit of the film last night (and not much more, because I couldn't stomach it -- besides the atrociously innaccurate history, the romantic angle between Smith and Pocahontas is just so bad in concept + also in visual execution, they're rubbing themselves all over each other like teenage kids in parts of this film), but found the clip they added in. I think one of the remarkable things about it is that despite how unsubstantial most of the film is, Alan Mencken's music (as typical) is the best thing about it, he's composing along with lyricist Stephen Schwartz here (of Godspell and Wicked fame). But also, unlike Russell Crowe (baritone), Mel Gibson actually can sing (tenor) to a degree that surprised me -- his voice has a nice timbre to it, he makes it sound effortless, and he actually has some decent range. Sigh, yeah -- Mel Gibson, with his OWN host of issues.

I remember when I watched Pocahontas in theaters, I was very disappointed. I couldn't really articulate why then and I can't now, but I suspect a lot of people felt that way. Disney was on this incredible streak from the Little Mermaid onwards where they consistently churned out things that were classics on the same level as their older catalogue and this was where the first crack appeared.

I would say only two movies after this were good: Mulan, and the Hunchback of Notre Dame (more Victor Hugo!). I also confess that I never got around to seeing a lot of those later films because I was aging out of it. I will note that Emperor's New Groove seems to have lodged it's way permanently in the brain of enough people that it's possible that it belongs here, also.

 

[Totenkindly]

That movie is unusual when I think about it. There are many powerful moments but also things that don't work (I don't care for Master of the House here and I love Sacha Baron Cohen). The movie does seem like it holds together as a whole, but I'm wondering now if that's just due to the fact that it's an extremely moving story that is difficult to mess up. The more I think about it, the movie reminds me of the film adaptation of Cats (it shares a director). Les Miserables hold together a lot better than Cats, but then Cats has no story and is just cobbled together from some cat poetry T.S. Elliot wrote. Cats has one moving scene and the rest of it is just celebrities engaging in nonsense while subjected to some AI prompt that spits out an image showing what it would be like if they were cats. Oh, I think I also remember feeling bad for Idris Elba when he didn't win the Jellicle Ball, but I'm not sure if I was supposed to.

Gawd. I actually last night was like, "I wonder if I can make it through CATS, just because maybe it's so bad it might actually be enjoyable in some way?" I'm scared, papa. Welp, we'll see.

I remember when I watched Pocahontas in theaters, I was very disappointed. I couldn't really articulate why then and I can't now, but I suspect a lot of people felt that way. Disney was on this incredible streak from the Little Mermaid onwards where they consistently churned out things that were classics on the same level as their older catalogue and this was where the first crack appeared.

Yeah, it opened with the woodcarving bookends which felt ripped out of Beauty & the Beast (with the stained glass window). Like I noted, the best part of the film for me was the music -- I felt like it had some depth and added to the characters. Pretty much all anyone remembers it for nowadays is the music, honestly. Otherwise we just had a few stupid animal sidekicks, awful history, and a misguided love story. I did listen to some of the demo tracks and as always, it's interesting to hear what got left dialogue-wise on the floor and it's like Disney just dumbed it down as far as possible to their kid test audience.

The actors were fine, it was really a story / concept problem. I kinda like the idea of both sides in a story looking down on each other and thinking each other savages -- however, tying it to a specific period of history that was pretty lopsided in that regard was a bad move.

I would say only two movies after this were good: Mulan, and the Hunchback of Notre Dame (more Victor Hugo!). I also confess that I never got around to seeing a lot of those later films because I was aging out of it. I will note that Emperor's New Groove seems to have lodged it's way permanently in the brain of enough people that it's possible that it belongs here, also.

My personal thoughts on Disney animation since (and I won't include Pixar or stuff they bought later):

Hunchback of Notre Dame: The singing gargoyles dumb this down a bit, but damn, Frollo puts a human face on the depravity of "ordinary human evil." Besides being such a rich story, I consider the soundtrack/score for this film to be Menken's crowning achievement; his reworked score for the stage musical is even more impressive. Also, the main leads (Tom Hulce as Quasimodo and Tony Jay as Frollo) just sell this so much -- both are stellar voice actors and singers. [Tony Jay, for you Reboot cartoon fans, was the voice of Megabyte, the lead villain as well.]

Hercules: okay, this film has become a LITTLE more enjoyable over time, because of the art/music stylizations and Susan Egan as Megara, and but it never moved out of light entertainment and James Wood felt a little one-note. They were also using integrating computer graphics but it wasn't seamless and you could tell which scenes had it.

Mulan: I was a bit disappointed when i saw this in the theater (I did not see it on par with B&tB or TLM), but nowadays it is actually one of my favorite Disney animated films ever and at least equal if not better than B&tB. Most of the Disney princesses are all outsiders who actualize by their individualism; Mulan is maybe the only one (or one of few, maybe Moana is kind of the same?) who is an outsider who does everything she does in order to care for her family, not to follow her bliss.

Tarzan: I like a few of the Phil Collin's songs and again the female lead (Minnie Driver) seems to be the most interesting in terms of mannerisms. The infamous Glenn Keane did animate Tarzan and kinda based him on skateboarders/surfers, but otherwise it's kind of a dull film.

Fantasia 2000: I actually really liked this film, in terms of the diversity of musical and animation styles.

Dinosaur: Eh. I don't even remember the plot of this and keep confusing it with The Good Dinosaur which was another Pixar miss.

The Emperor's New Groove: I loved this film as soon as I saw it -- it's basically Chuck Jones warner bros cartoons by Disney, it's just hilariously funny and meme worthy. John Goodman grounds the film, David Spade is in typical form, and the real finds here were Patrick Warburton (which we already knew from Seinfeld) but really EARTHA KITT as Yzma. OMG but was she glorious! I also love that Disney threw out the formula halfway through the film production and leaned fully into it being a comedy -- I mean, it's got some meaningful moments, but it didn't try to be a musical.

Atlantis: There is a strong cult fan base for this film. I was kinda "eh" on it but I agree the art design was pretty good.

Lilo & Stitch: Disney decides to do another comedy. I love Stitch (the whole opening of this film is hilarious and also reminds me a bit of the center of Heavy Metal), and I love how Lilo is an angry kid and keeps getting herself in trouble, and she and Stich (both angry losers) end up building a family together. Also David and Nani do their best to care for Lilo despite her issues, and David might be one of the most supportive guys in a Disney film, if I remember correctly?

Treasure Planet: I've never even finished this, I've tried twice. I know it also has a cult following, it just doesn't do much for me.

Brother Bear: Uggh. One of the worst films I remember seeing from Disney. And I love bears.

Home of the Range: Some kind of silly movie. Never watched.

Chicken Little: I remember this being funny, but I don't really plan to rewatch.

Meet the Robinsons: Another film with a cult following. Never watched.

Bolt: Saw it. Don't remember much. Couldn't care less.

The Princess & The Frog: I appreciate the setting and characters and doing something different. However, the movie itself did little for me and I didn't really care for it.

Tangled: That whole stretch from Treasure Planet until here was dead for me. Tangled just blew me away. One of my favorite Disney pictures, with great music. Again, Mother Gothel puts a human face on evil -- Frollo was the bad father, Gothel is the bad mother. I could identify with some of the moments, in terms of being released from a dark prison into the bright world, and also just the King and Queen missing their daughter so much they kept releasing the floating lamps every year, hoping she would come home. Also a very strong character with Flynn, for a man in a Disney film -- he's the rogue who develops depth over the course of the film and just makes this big selfless gesture at the end, and Disney is willing to change the appearance of their protagonist in the final minutes of the film. It's just great. Tangled spelled the start of Disney making relevant animated films again.

Wreck-it Ralph: This is actually a decent film and something off the beaten path for Disney, aside from the nostalgia factor. The big twist in film's middle is unexpected but totally makes sense. Ralph and Vanellope are outsider characters who succeed by being who they are and actually they were okay all along but had to accept themselves. Maybe that sounds like "normal" Disney, but the thing is that the movie never sands down the rough edges of either character and they still are kinda screw-ups at the end... but it's okay. I felt like Disney was more honest with their portrayals.

Frozen: Sigh. This isn't a bad film, and I relate to Elsa a lot. I like that Anna is "normal" and gets as much attention as Elsa. In fact, in both Frozen movies, Anna is almost more heroic than the sister with powers. But it's nowhere near as great as the hype pushed it. It's also got another "good guy until a bad guy" character -- see Encanto.

Big Hero 6: It's okay. Kind of forgettable, aside from Betamax or whatever the medic robots name is. I was cheesed when it beat HTTYD2 for the Oscar.

Zootopia: Sigh. This was actually a decent film by Disney and dealing with relevant themes about social prejudice. I was really disappointed that Kubo & The Two Strings did not win the Oscar that year for animated feature, but it is salved a bit by Disney actually having made a decent film here.

Moana: Kind of a cool ending, and I like that Moana was not necessarily being an individual but actually being true to who her people were supposed to be but had forgotten -- and she goes home at the end and restores them to themselves. That was cool.

Ralph Breaks the Internet: Not as good as the first film overall, but it has its moments -- and I so much love the final truth about how life changes, and friends grow and change and sometimes they go in different directions... and it is okay, it doesn't mean they are no longer friends, but you have to expand and accept when you're not happy where you are. AKA Friendship can survive personal growth and changes. The main plot itself was kind of bland but that bit was so adult in its thought process.

Frozen II: Not as good as the first film. I think Anna rocks, though.

Raya and the Last Dragon: I have mixed feelings. I like Akwafina in general, but her voice annoyed me in this film. The film itself varies in quality but I kind of like the last twenty minutes and how the fate of everything falls to the mini-"villain" of the film, based on the examples set by our heroes.

Encanto: People are gonna hate me. There is a lot about this film to like, but I ultimately was kinda "eh" on it based on the plotting: There is no real climax of the film. The villain is basically the grandmother who has forced her family to win her approval and either quietly ruined them or completely eradicated their presence in the family. But she never actually hits a crux point -- she's a villain, and suddenly she repents, "Bad guy is suddenly a good guy." It kinda undercut the film for me. Again, a lot of people rave on this film, I did not.

Strange World: Okay. This film was considered a "bomb" in terms of box office, but it's actually an okay film. It's not bad, it's not a stellar film. It was an enjoyable watch but also kind of forgettable. Also has a queer relationship, which of course the Internet flipped out over. Part of the reason it bombed was because Disney abandoned it and did not advertise it. No one even knew it released until after it had bombed. I'm kind of agape at how they just cut this film loose without any real promotion.

 

[The Cat]

Gollum is so wrong. The rest remind of Greek gods except for Elrond (I don't seem him wearing tats; on Gandalf it comes off as part of a magical ritual); and Boromir, whose proportions seem off and whose musculature seems over-inflated even for this.

Gandalf looks like Jackie Chun with his shirt off.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Gawd. I actually last night was like, "I wonder if I can make it through CATS, just because maybe it's so bad it might actually be enjoyable in some way?" I'm scared, papa. Welp, we'll see.

My cat just caught me talking shit about the movie and is extremely angry at me. He saw the film about 20 times in theaters.

Yeah, it opened with the woodcarving bookends which felt ripped out of Beauty & the Beast (with the stained glass window). Like I noted, the best part of the film for me was the music -- I felt like it had some depth and added to the characters. Pretty much all anyone remembers it for nowadays is the music, honestly. Otherwise we just had a few stupid animal sidekicks, awful history, and a misguided love story. I did listen to some of the demo tracks and as always, it's interesting to hear what got left dialogue-wise on the floor and it's like Disney just dumbed it down as far as possible to their kid test audience.

The actors were fine, it was really a story / concept problem. I kinda like the idea of both sides in a story looking down on each other and thinking each other savages -- however, tying it to a specific period of history that was pretty lopsided in that regard was a bad move.



My personal thoughts on Disney animation since (and I won't include Pixar or stuff they bought later):

Hunchback of Notre Dame: The singing gargoyles dumb this down a bit, but damn, Frollo puts a human face on the depravity of "ordinary human evil." Besides being such a rich story, I consider the soundtrack/score for this film to be Menken's crowning achievement; his reworked score for the stage musical is even more impressive. Also, the main leads (Tom Hulce as Quasimodo and Tony Jay as Frollo) just sell this so much -- both are stellar voice actors and singers. [Tony Jay, for you Reboot cartoon fans, was the voice of Megabyte, the lead villain as well.]

Hercules: okay, this film has become a LITTLE more enjoyable over time, because of the art/music stylizations and Susan Egan as Megara, and but it never moved out of light entertainment and James Wood felt a little one-note. They were also using integrating computer graphics but it wasn't seamless and you could tell which scenes had it.

Mulan: I was a bit disappointed when i saw this in the theater (I did not see it on par with B&tB or TLM), but nowadays it is actually one of my favorite Disney animated films ever and at least equal if not better than B&tB. Most of the Disney princesses are all outsiders who actualize by their individualism; Mulan is maybe the only one (or one of few, maybe Moana is kind of the same?) who is an outsider who does everything she does in order to care for her family, not to follow her bliss.

Tarzan: I like a few of the Phil Collin's songs and again the female lead (Minnie Driver) seems to be the most interesting in terms of mannerisms. The infamous Glenn Keane did animate Tarzan and kinda based him on skateboarders/surfers, but otherwise it's kind of a dull film.

Fantasia 2000: I actually really liked this film, in terms of the diversity of musical and animation styles.

Dinosaur: Eh. I don't even remember the plot of this and keep confusing it with The Good Dinosaur which was another Pixar miss.

The Emperor's New Groove: I loved this film as soon as I saw it -- it's basically Chuck Jones warner bros cartoons by Disney, it's just hilariously funny and meme worthy. John Goodman grounds the film, David Spade is in typical form, and the real finds here were Patrick Warburton (which we already knew from Seinfeld) but really EARTHA KITT as Yzma. OMG but was she glorious! I also love that Disney threw out the formula halfway through the film production and leaned fully into it being a comedy -- I mean, it's got some meaningful moments, but it didn't try to be a musical.

Atlantis: There is a strong cult fan base for this film. I was kinda "eh" on it but I agree the art design was pretty good.

Lilo & Stitch: Disney decides to do another comedy. I love Stitch (the whole opening of this film is hilarious and also reminds me a bit of the center of Heavy Metal), and I love how Lilo is an angry kid and keeps getting herself in trouble, and she and Stich (both angry losers) end up building a family together. Also David and Nani do their best to care for Lilo despite her issues, and David might be one of the most supportive guys in a Disney film, if I remember correctly?

Treasure Planet: I've never even finished this, I've tried twice. I know it also has a cult following, it just doesn't do much for me.

Brother Bear: Uggh. One of the worst films I remember seeing from Disney. And I love bears.

Home of the Range: Some kind of silly movie. Never watched.

Chicken Little: I remember this being funny, but I don't really plan to rewatch.

Meet the Robinsons: Another film with a cult following. Never watched.

Bolt: Saw it. Don't remember much. Couldn't care less.

The Princess & The Frog: I appreciate the setting and characters and doing something different. However, the movie itself did little for me and I didn't really care for it.

Tangled: That whole stretch from Treasure Planet until here was dead for me. Tangled just blew me away. One of my favorite Disney pictures, with great music. Again, Mother Gothel puts a human face on evil -- Frollo was the bad father, Gothel is the bad mother. I could identify with some of the moments, in terms of being released from a dark prison into the bright world, and also just the King and Queen missing their daughter so much they kept releasing the floating lamps every year, hoping she would come home. Also a very strong character with Flynn, for a man in a Disney film -- he's the rogue who develops depth over the course of the film and just makes this big selfless gesture at the end, and Disney is willing to change the appearance of their protagonist in the final minutes of the film. It's just great. Tangled spelled the start of Disney making relevant animated films again.

Wreck-it Ralph: This is actually a decent film and something off the beaten path for Disney, aside from the nostalgia factor. The big twist in film's middle is unexpected but totally makes sense. Ralph and Vanellope are outsider characters who succeed by being who they are and actually they were okay all along but had to accept themselves. Maybe that sounds like "normal" Disney, but the thing is that the movie never sands down the rough edges of either character and they still are kinda screw-ups at the end... but it's okay. I felt like Disney was more honest with their portrayals.

Frozen: Sigh. This isn't a bad film, and I relate to Elsa a lot. I like that Anna is "normal" and gets as much attention as Elsa. In fact, in both Frozen movies, Anna is almost more heroic than the sister with powers. But it's nowhere near as great as the hype pushed it. It's also got another "good guy until a bad guy" character -- see Encanto.

Big Hero 6: It's okay. Kind of forgettable, aside from Betamax or whatever the medic robots name is. I was cheesed when it beat HTTYD2 for the Oscar.

Zootopia: Sigh. This was actually a decent film by Disney and dealing with relevant themes about social prejudice. I was really disappointed that Kubo & The Two Strings did not win the Oscar that year for animated feature, but it is salved a bit by Disney actually having made a decent film here.

Moana: Kind of a cool ending, and I like that Moana was not necessarily being an individual but actually being true to who her people were supposed to be but had forgotten -- and she goes home at the end and restores them to themselves. That was cool.

Ralph Breaks the Internet: Not as good as the first film overall, but it has its moments -- and I so much love the final truth about how life changes, and friends grow and change and sometimes they go in different directions... and it is okay, it doesn't mean they are no longer friends, but you have to expand and accept when you're not happy where you are. AKA Friendship can survive personal growth and changes. The main plot itself was kind of bland but that bit was so adult in its thought process.

Frozen II: Not as good as the first film. I think Anna rocks, though.

Raya and the Last Dragon: I have mixed feelings. I like Akwafina in general, but her voice annoyed me in this film. The film itself varies in quality but I kind of like the last twenty minutes and how the fate of everything falls to the mini-"villain" of the film, based on the examples set by our heroes.

Encanto: People are gonna hate me. There is a lot about this film to like, but I ultimately was kinda "eh" on it based on the plotting: There is no real climax of the film. The villain is basically the grandmother who has forced her family to win her approval and either quietly ruined them or completely eradicated their presence in the family. But she never actually hits a crux point -- she's a villain, and suddenly she repents, "Bad guy is suddenly a good guy." It kinda undercut the film for me. Again, a lot of people rave on this film, I did not.

Strange World: Okay. This film was considered a "bomb" in terms of box office, but it's actually an okay film. It's not bad, it's not a stellar film. It was an enjoyable watch but also kind of forgettable. Also has a queer relationship, which of course the Internet flipped out over. Part of the reason it bombed was because Disney abandoned it and did not advertise it. No one even knew it released until after it had bombed. I'm kind of agape at how they just cut this film loose without any real promotion.

Oh, I was just thinking of the "traditional hand-drawn" stuff. But the vast majority of these films you mentioned, I haven't seen.