Random Movie Thoughts Thread

[yeghor]

David Zaslav DESTROYS The WOKE And People CANNOT HANDLE IT! They Want Him CANCELLED IMMEDIATELY! - by Hypnotic

 

[Totenkindly]

Disney releases another winner.

it sounds like a must-see, if just for the lolz.

 

[Totenkindly]

despite its flaws, first extended Hobbit film was still paced okay.

Second extended Hobbit film pretty much becomes a drag as soon as they hit Laketown. Beorn and Mirkwood are decent enough (the spiders freaked me out), as well as the general Elf-king scene (because it doesn't overstay its welcome), although then you get the river ride which is annoying AF if you aren't prepared for it and otherwise hilarious AF if you can just treat it lightly because it's just so dumb and over the top.

At Laketown, the pacing becomes terrible and the film feels dragged out and/or boring in ways the first film did not. There's also a lot of cuts between subplots that contribute to the bad pacing and/or just feeling hard to invest emotionally. (There are at least four subplots: Laketown throughline, Smaug, the orcs and the elves (both of which merge into the Laketown subplot), and then Dol Guldur.)) You also get that new shithead Alfred character, who becomes comic relief in this film and most of the way through the third film.

The main issue is that this series was supposed to be two films, not a trilogy, but Jackson seemed to feel he had too much film to conclude after film #2 but not nearly enough to fill a third film, so they added a bunch of shit to the second film to push everything out so the final film can just focus on the war -- and also includes Smaug vs Laketown. (Which is again ironic, considering the second film is called "The Desolation of Smaug," so they actually use the title in the second film in the dialogue to try to make up for it!)

The whole Dol Guldur scene is so damn useless to me. It's only an aside in The Hobbit, where the White Council drives out the Necromancer AKA Sauron (to explain where Gandalf has been instead of helping the dwarves at Erebor), and I hated Jackson's treatment of Sauron and Galadriel and Elrond anyway from LotR, so seeing all the same sins repeated here is just annoying. In the book, Gandalf has already found Thrain in the dungeons before he even talked to Thorin (like, decades earlier) and gotten the map and the key from him to give to Thorin. Here he bumps into Thrain for the first time, who attacks him, and lots of stupid Gandalf fighting orc shit, and then getting captured... ho hum, it's a great time to fix yourself a snack or use the bathroom because there's no real value being added to the film with this garbage or how it's handled. Yet Jackson keeps cutting out to it from significantly more interesting subplots.

We also get a ton of Legolas being Super Legolas. (There's a really great bit of dialogue of self-unawareness, when Tauriel is going to go track the orcs and Legolas tells her it's not prudent as there's no way she can kill 30 orcs on her own -- right after he himself has probably killed about 50 of them single-handedly in three minutes.)

The initial scene with Bilbo and Smaug is pretty great -- and Smaug actually seems terrifying. Then they start adding new dialogue, and all the chase sequences with the dwarves which get more and more unbelievable, and basically just pad out the film unnecessarily.

I think it's kind of the messiest of the three, because at least in the final film the plot is pretty straight-forward: Resolve the Smaug conflict, then head for the Battle of the Five Armies.

I am really wondering how this would have all looked if Del Toro had stayed as director.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

despite its flaws, first extended Hobbit film was still paced okay.

Second extended Hobbit film pretty much becomes a drag as soon as they hit Laketown. Beorn and Mirkwood are decent enough (the spiders freaked me out), as well as the general Elf-king scene (because it doesn't overstay its welcome), although then you get the river ride which is annoying AF if you aren't prepared for it and otherwise hilarious AF if you can just treat it lightly because it's just so dumb and over the top.

At Laketown, the pacing becomes terrible and the film feels dragged out and/or boring in ways the first film did not. There's also a lot of cuts between subplots that contribute to the bad pacing and/or just feeling hard to invest emotionally. (There are at least four subplots: Laketown throughline, Smaug, the orcs and the elves (both of which merge into the Laketown subplot), and then Dol Guldur.)) You also get that new shithead Alfred character, who becomes comic relief in this film and most of the way through the third film.

The main issue is that this series was supposed to be two films, not a trilogy, but Jackson seemed to feel he had too much film to conclude after film #2 but not nearly enough to fill a third film, so they added a bunch of shit to the second film to push everything out so the final film can just focus on the war -- and also includes Smaug vs Laketown. (Which is again ironic, considering the second film is called "The Desolation of Smaug," so they actually use the title in the second film in the dialogue to try to make up for it!)

The whole Dol Guldur scene is so damn useless to me. It's only an aside in The Hobbit, where the White Council drives out the Necromancer AKA Sauron (to explain where Gandalf has been instead of helping the dwarves at Erebor), and I hated Jackson's treatment of Sauron and Galadriel and Elrond anyway from LotR, so seeing all the same sins repeated here is just annoying. In the book, Gandalf has already found Thrain in the dungeons before he even talked to Thorin (like, decades earlier) and gotten the map and the key from him to give to Thorin. Here he bumps into Thrain for the first time, who attacks him, and lots of stupid Gandalf fighting orc shit, and then getting captured... ho hum, it's a great time to fix yourself a snack or use the bathroom because there's no real value being added to the film with this garbage or how it's handled. Yet Jackson keeps cutting out to it from significantly more interesting subplots.

We also get a ton of Legolas being Super Legolas. (There's a really great bit of dialogue of self-unawareness, when Tauriel is going to go track the orcs and Legolas tells her it's not prudent as there's no way she can kill 30 orcs on her own -- right after he himself has probably killed about 50 of them single-handedly in three minutes.)

The initial scene with Bilbo and Smaug is pretty great -- and Smaug actually seems terrifying. Then they start adding new dialogue, and all the chase sequences with the dwarves which get more and more unbelievable, and basically just pad out the film unnecessarily.

I think it's kind of the messiest of the three, because at least in the final film the plot is pretty straight-forward: Resolve the Smaug conflict, then head for the Battle of the Five Armies.

I am really wondering how this would have all looked if Del Toro had stayed as director.

I really liked the steampunk nature of Erebor. I think it suits the dwarves.

 

[The Cat]

despite its flaws, first extended Hobbit film was still paced okay.

Second extended Hobbit film pretty much becomes a drag as soon as they hit Laketown. Beorn and Mirkwood are decent enough (the spiders freaked me out), as well as the general Elf-king scene (because it doesn't overstay its welcome), although then you get the river ride which is annoying AF if you aren't prepared for it and otherwise hilarious AF if you can just treat it lightly because it's just so dumb and over the top.

At Laketown, the pacing becomes terrible and the film feels dragged out and/or boring in ways the first film did not. There's also a lot of cuts between subplots that contribute to the bad pacing and/or just feeling hard to invest emotionally. (There are at least four subplots: Laketown throughline, Smaug, the orcs and the elves (both of which merge into the Laketown subplot), and then Dol Guldur.)) You also get that new shithead Alfred character, who becomes comic relief in this film and most of the way through the third film.

The main issue is that this series was supposed to be two films, not a trilogy, but Jackson seemed to feel he had too much film to conclude after film #2 but not nearly enough to fill a third film, so they added a bunch of shit to the second film to push everything out so the final film can just focus on the war -- and also includes Smaug vs Laketown. (Which is again ironic, considering the second film is called "The Desolation of Smaug," so they actually use the title in the second film in the dialogue to try to make up for it!)

The whole Dol Guldur scene is so damn useless to me. It's only an aside in The Hobbit, where the White Council drives out the Necromancer AKA Sauron (to explain where Gandalf has been instead of helping the dwarves at Erebor), and I hated Jackson's treatment of Sauron and Galadriel and Elrond anyway from LotR, so seeing all the same sins repeated here is just annoying. In the book, Gandalf has already found Thrain in the dungeons before he even talked to Thorin (like, decades earlier) and gotten the map and the key from him to give to Thorin. Here he bumps into Thrain for the first time, who attacks him, and lots of stupid Gandalf fighting orc shit, and then getting captured... ho hum, it's a great time to fix yourself a snack or use the bathroom because there's no real value being added to the film with this garbage or how it's handled. Yet Jackson keeps cutting out to it from significantly more interesting subplots.

We also get a ton of Legolas being Super Legolas. (There's a really great bit of dialogue of self-unawareness, when Tauriel is going to go track the orcs and Legolas tells her it's not prudent as there's no way she can kill 30 orcs on her own -- right after he himself has probably killed about 50 of them single-handedly in three minutes.)

The initial scene with Bilbo and Smaug is pretty great -- and Smaug actually seems terrifying. Then they start adding new dialogue, and all the chase sequences with the dwarves which get more and more unbelievable, and basically just pad out the film unnecessarily.

I think it's kind of the messiest of the three, because at least in the final film the plot is pretty straight-forward: Resolve the Smaug conflict, then head for the Battle of the Five Armies.

I am really wondering how this would have all looked if Del Toro had stayed as director.

Prettier. Much prettier. More Aesthetic. Tighter. And an excellent excuse to bring up in a less twisted time line not only do we get that movie, but we get At the Mountains of Madness by Del Toro instead of Prometheus, and I wouldnt be stuck with this one wash out blue streak in my hair. Stuff got dark.

 

[Totenkindly]

I really liked the steampunk nature of Erebor. I think it suits the dwarves.

well, I'm cool with the internal design of Erebor. I also think the halls of the Elf-King were a really nice blend of subterranean and elf/natural design.

 

[Totenkindly]

Saw this comment on FB today:

Today I was reminded that the next James Bond will be the first who did not serve Queen Elizabeth.

 

[yeghor]

Lol

Why Modern Movies Suck - They Hate Their Own Fans - by Critical Drinker

 

[yeghor]

Transcript below:

It isn't focused on actually telling the story of The Little Mermaid that we know it's very much so just going in the same way of things like Rings a power worlds, focused on taking something that we already knew a story that we were already familiar with and then completely replacing it with some sort of hijacked version of that story that is through a modern woke lens.

So like I said just just compare these two trailers and the numbers here completely different the opposites in fact so new Little Mermaid, Snow White Stars say their modern characters won't be defined by needing a man's love. You already know where this is going okay you already know that this isn't about actually creating the stories of Ariel and Snow White or anything like that it's about an agenda, it's about a political ideology.

"Call it the Elsa effect or maybe it's just progress". Now this is the thing is that Elsa is something that I can actually respect as a film The Frozen films and everything else because those are actual original Stories it's the same reason why a lot of people don't have a problem with things like Moana or enchant or Encanto Encanto or any of these other stories that Disney continues to put out with all these new princesses. The backlash isn't the same with those because those are original stories that Disney's putting out those are news stories that they're putting out but they are afraid to do that with these live action stories for some reason like why couldn't Disney just make a new story that could be still in the same universe as The Little Mermaid or something else with a black lead, because those are actual Original Stories.

It's the same reason why a lot of people don't have a problem with things like Moana or Encanto or any of these other stories that Disney continues to put out with all these new princesses the the backlash isn't the same with those because those are original stories that Disney's putting out. Those are news stories that they're putting out but they are afraid to do that with these live action stories for some reason like why couldn't Disney just make a new story that could be still in the same universe as The Little Mermaid or something else with a black lead in it and no one would bat an eye, I wouldn't bat an eye.

That's the thing, none of this actually has to do with creating new stories or or developing new ideas or characters or anything like that it's all about hijacking something that that came before and so there's there's this comment as well that I really want to highlight because I thought this was absolutely fantastic: "no actresses who could pass for Danish were available. My people, please stop supporting this stuff we deserve films about black fairy tales we don't need to plunder European Heritage we have amazing fairy tales of our own".

Honestly I think that's true and that's something that I am actually very focused on over at Epic universe I would love to actually bring some of these African stories some of these African folklore and and tales and everything else to the screen which is something that I am actually in pursuit of right now. But let's go ahead and take a look and see what Hal Bailey has to say here and while Eric will still be a major character in next year's The Little Mermaid Bailey says her Ariel also won't be defined by romantic attraction we keep a lot of the meat of the film that made us all fall in love with this film it's really her and her gumption and just excitement for the life above her world.

So it's a amazing but it's also updated with the current times and this statement right here tells us everything that we need to know about what this movie is going to be focused on what this movie is going to find important. It isn't about you know telling the story of The Little Mermaid again in the context of the actual story of The Little Mermaid it's about updating it. This is the same language that the showrunners with Rings of Power are using for that show as well. They're updating Lord of the Rings with the current times and if you criticize that because they're not being faithful to Tolkien or whatever else then apparently that makes you a terrible person.

"I think she really just goes for what she wants she's not scared and it's not all about a boy it's all about what she wants for herself and her life". So once again this is showing that that the message that that Disney is trying to get out there is the message of the god of self where you know it's all about ourselves it's about me me me it's about having this selfish sort of viewpoint on the world which is something that they are very very keen on continuing to try to push in everything that they do and the reason for this is because when you have a selfish mindset it affects society as a whole.

My opinion:
All of the points he identified indicate that Woke ideology is narcissistic in nature. We have a bunch of egotists trying to impose their ideology and worldview onto arts, entertainment and society and anywhere they can get their hands into.

A feminine type of dictatorship, in other words, Matriarchy or Female Chauvinism.

Disney's WOKE Little Mermaid BACKLASH Gets WORSE After Actress Says This! - by JosiahRises

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I may watch Prey this weekend this weekend. Since I no longer have to devote my waking hours to studying computer science ( more intensely than as an undergrad, TBH), I have some free time.

I've never seen the original Predator in its entirety, but I liked Amber Midthunder in Legion and am pleased that she has a starring role in this. I'm assuming the original Predator isn't required viewing although I will probably end up checking that out too.

 

[The Cat]

I may watch Prey this weekend this weekend. Since I no longer have to devote my waking hours to studying computer science ( more intensely than as an undergrad, TBH), I have some free time.

I've never seen the original Predator in its entirety, but I liked Amber Midthunder in Legion and am pleased that she has a starring role in this. I'm assuming the original Predator isn't required viewing although I will probably end up checking that out too.

Predator and Predator two are the ones you should really see, AVPs are fine if you're a masochist....

 

[yeghor]

Viola Davis Has Twitter MELTDOWN After WOKE The Woman King BACKLASH! - by JosiahRises

 

[yeghor]

Curious about this movie.

Vesper

 

[Totenkindly]

Watched The Innocents (2021) for free last night on Shudder.

It feels a bit underwritten, but ironically came out in wide release about the same time as the Firestarter remake and it's definitely high art in comparison to that piece of trash (note: both deal from kids having "powers"). The director (Vogt) cowrites a lot of the past films of Joachim Trier (who recently did "The Worst Person in the World," one of my favorite films from 2021).

Obviously in subtitles. Some really wonderful kid performances. I think the only flaw I found was the opening dragging for a bit; the film might have been tightened some. If you are looking for backstory films, that is not really this -- it doesn't explain how the kids have powers or why, although the interesting part is that they tend to have them in conjunction (either having them at all, or strengthening what they have, happens when they are together).

A bit reminiscent of Chronicle in the sense of how common it might be for a child who is neglected and/or also abused (by either parents or peers), if they do not just give up, might be inclined to inflict pain on other life and lose their sense of empathy. Pain fueled by power dwarfs any connection they might feel with others.

The film does depict an autistic child but I thought very sympathetically and powerfully (it felt very real) as well as the complications that caused in the relationship with siblings.

Basically scans as an art house film about kids who are more than average kids. It rather embarrasses films like New Mutants or Firestarter (new). I really like how the story develops the relationship of the lead (Ida) with her sister Anna.

 

[yeghor]

A love story by a Hungarian director, about a man in his late 50s and a woman in her 30s working at the same factory. It's not mentioned in the movie but the woman has poor social skills and obsessed with orderliness and might be a schizoid.

On Body and Soul - by Ildiko Enyedi

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

 

[yeghor]

A witch story in late medieval Romania.

You won't be Alone

 

[Totenkindly]

Currently trying to complete watching Hounds of Love over on Shudder, which is directed by Ben Young and loosely based on the crimes of David and Catharine Birnie. (David hung himself in jail in 2007 or something, while Catharine is probably never getting out of prison again while she lives.)

They would capture young women, take them back to their house, imprison them, have sex with them, then murder them and bury the bodies out in the forest. They were captured when their final captive actually escaped without being killed, and had been smart enough to figure out their real names + stash evidence in their house to prove she had actually been inside. The main difference between real life and the films is (1) the victims have been blended together a bit -- all the details come from the real story, but added to one of the victim's rather than across the victims, and (3) in the film the husband seems like the ringleader and the wife feels like she is more in thrall, whereas in reality it was much more of a joint effort even if both had somewhat different motivations.

The budget seems pretty low (good enough to shoot the film without looking cheap, but with barely any frills or effects), but it's an amazing example of what you can do with a limited budget if (1) your actors are good, (2) the script is decent, (3) the director knows how to direct the cast and frame/shoot the shots, and (4) the edit is good at assembling the film. Like, this film feels better made than many movies I have seen with a much higher budget.

The problem I am finding is that it's actually too good / too much. I usually am not fazed out by much (i've seen some crazy shit, including French New Wave Horror of the 2000's and A Serbian Film from 2010), but the film is done well enough and all three of the leads (the couple and the main girl who I presume will escape) are so good that it just feels too real. The emotions are just too powerful. As a viewer, it doesn't actually feel like fiction; I don't know how the young woman playing the captive was able to tap into such raw anguish and ferocity without it messing with her head after. I'm kind of disturbed watching it and can only manage it in chunks.

 

[SD45T-2]

Ford was apparently a major contributor to Diamonds Are Forever. I had already guessed this before seeing the credits because as a car guy I couldn't help but notice Fords everywhere and that they were mostly brand new. The red Mustang Mach 1 was particularly appealing. I don't know what it had in it, but I know they were available with the 429 Cobra Jet rated at 375 (gross) horsepower. I suppose it's a good thing the movie was made in 1971 because for the '72 model year compression ratios plummeted across the whole auto industry and performance just kept going downhill for the rest of the '70s.

 

[Totenkindly]

With that opening, looks like we're gonna get four more Avatar films whether you want them or not...!

Avatar Tops The Box Office 13 Years After Its Original Release With $30 Million Weekend

James Cameron's Avatar re-release has proven that there is an appetite for the franchise, with the film easily taking top spot at the box office.

movieweb.com