That’s a loaded question. I loved it to death but I’m also a big fan of the character. The most widely held opinion I have observed is that the first two thirds are great but act three seems to be where the movie falls down and Gal Gadot and Chris Pine (who gets a really stellar scene all to himself) have great chemistry together and that the World War I setting is interesting. Like I said, I loved it but I’m a pre-existing fan.
Discuss and Rate the Last Film You Watched
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John Henry. Sorry, but no. I like Terry Crews in some stuff, but this film just doesn't *do* anything. Could've made it John Wick With a Hammer, but they went and made it John Wick With a Conscience and a Vague Backstory That Isn't Very Good, Although He Has Got a Hammer.
Yesterday, I watched...
Sign o' the Times for the third time.
Could never be made in these modern times when everyone likes to get offended.
I noticed that the speed in that YouTube video is high. Weird. Also sounds much thinner than the new disc and isn't as vibrant looking.
Titan A.E.
I forgot how bad the CG looks (with a budget of about 80 million dollars) and how lame the songs are and that they create a planet in five minutes. Also found it hard to pay attention sometimes, to be honest. Still kind of entertaining. But not really good.
Tonight I'm gonna watch The Fifth Element, the 2020 Studio Canal 4K. Never been a fan. Prefer Leon and Nikita. But maybe it will be better so many years later. The new transfer looks good.
Sign o' the Times for the third time.
Could never be made in these modern times when everyone likes to get offended.
I noticed that the speed in that YouTube video is high. Weird. Also sounds much thinner than the new disc and isn't as vibrant looking.
Titan A.E.
I forgot how bad the CG looks (with a budget of about 80 million dollars) and how lame the songs are and that they create a planet in five minutes. Also found it hard to pay attention sometimes, to be honest. Still kind of entertaining. But not really good.
Tonight I'm gonna watch The Fifth Element, the 2020 Studio Canal 4K. Never been a fan. Prefer Leon and Nikita. But maybe it will be better so many years later. The new transfer looks good.
In my opinion, Wonder Woman is the only good one of the series, along with Aquaman, which was super fun. I watched Man of Steel, didn't really like it on multiple levels. Batman v Superman is just not the style of movie I enjoy. The whole "let's pit 2 friends as enemies! who will win!?!" thing, i just find...meh. Never saw Justice League either, because it built off of BvS and MoS.
But Wonder Woman, that was a really good film in my opinion. As was Aquaman, though Aquaman, is more just totally silly, but silly in a big, fun, technocolor kind of way.
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I love Wonder Woman, but I disagree. Shazam and Harley Quinn are pretty good too. Your feeling's on Suicide Squad is more understandable, although I found it average with some nice moments. HQ & Birds of Prey definitely improved on it.
Aquaman is so good, because it knows how silly it is. Which makes its awesome. I still don't know how they're going to top all of the crazy shit that happened in a single film. Seriously, Aquaman is like a Devil May Cry movie, but underwater. Rugged younger brother that is wacky and shout "Wooo!" or "Woohooo!". Older brother that is a bigger dick, refined fighting style, slicked backed hair, and is mama's boy just like his sibling. The movie is right kind of silly, serious, and stylish.
Yeah I typed that before remembering Aquaman, so I need to edit that bit in a few minutes. I didn't really care for Shazam. It was fine I guess? Just, didn't really do it for me too much. Which is hard to do, for a movie about empowering a child to be a hero. I liked the bit at the end with the rest of them though, but overall I was just sort of eh on the film. Never saw BoP, as I just don't really like Harley as a character. I dislike the glorification of mental illness, that is her one and only trait, that they try and peddle off as a superpower it seems.
Yeah I enjoyed the hell out of that film. I remember watching it for like the first 20 minutes or so and thinking "oh...ok so it's THAT kind of comic book movie...got it, I'm on board." and just sat back in the theater and giggled my ass off as the various bits.
So, I keep seeing people saying that Aquaman is bonkers and whatnot. And while that's not an unreasonable statement, IMO, the film actually takes itself fairly seriously.
Like, if I had to describe Aquaman (the film) to someone who'd never seen a superhero film before, I could easily say "King Arthur, but under the sea." I mean, this is a reference the film makes itself, with Arthur Curry being named after King Arthur. And therefore, we get plots of Arthur Pendragon/Arthur Curry being the son of royalty, being destined to unite Albion/Atlantis, and proving his right to rule by getting a magic sword/trident, facing off against Mordred/Orm, and winning the love of Guinivere/Meera in the process. Now, that's a simplification, and of course Arthurian legend doesn't have the monopoly on these tropes, but while there's plenty of insanity in the film, it's never in a wink-at-the-camera sort of way. Within the film itself, all the characters treat things seriously, and the stakes are real.
Anyway, if we're ranking the DCEU, Aquaman is pretty much right in the centre for me. It's fun, but goes on a bit too long, and sometimes gets too exhausting with so much stuff being thrown against the screen.
I know it's kind of "nah, really?", but Civil War works much better in that all of these characters have been developed beforehand.
Like, if I had to describe Aquaman (the film) to someone who'd never seen a superhero film before, I could easily say "King Arthur, but under the sea." I mean, this is a reference the film makes itself, with Arthur Curry being named after King Arthur. And therefore, we get plots of Arthur Pendragon/Arthur Curry being the son of royalty, being destined to unite Albion/Atlantis, and proving his right to rule by getting a magic sword/trident, facing off against Mordred/Orm, and winning the love of Guinivere/Meera in the process. Now, that's a simplification, and of course Arthurian legend doesn't have the monopoly on these tropes, but while there's plenty of insanity in the film, it's never in a wink-at-the-camera sort of way. Within the film itself, all the characters treat things seriously, and the stakes are real.
Anyway, if we're ranking the DCEU, Aquaman is pretty much right in the centre for me. It's fun, but goes on a bit too long, and sometimes gets too exhausting with so much stuff being thrown against the screen.
BvS can't even get that right since it's introducing Bats in the same film he comes up against Supes.
I know it's kind of "nah, really?", but Civil War works much better in that all of these characters have been developed beforehand.
I agree it's taking itself very seriously. But, I mean this is a "serious" that includes an octopus drummer, banging on multiple drums at once, while a woman wearing a dress made of jellyfish (giggity), watch two dudes fight in a ring of fire....underwater. I mean, that's SUPER silly and bonkers, but that's not a criticism as far as I'm concerned. Because comics ARE super silly and bonkers a lot of the time, so I don't mind if the films are. It knows what it's trying to do, and it does it, with as much sincerity as say, the Flash Gordon film from back in the 70s or whatever. That film, is goofy as shit, but it's also amazing, and has some fantastic moments in it.
So I just watched the Phantom Menace in its entirety. And I haven't seen this in a while now.
....And it still sucks and ranks very low for me to the point that I don't even consider it the true Star Wars Episode 1.
My Star Wars Prequel Trilogy is Attack of the Clones, Clone Wars (2003 Version), and Revenge of the Sith.
The biggest fucking problem with Phantom Menace is not just Jar Jar or the plot, but the fucking pacing and sequence of events. Events that feels so disconnected to the grander plot.
Like do we need that bigger fish part? Did we need to be in Tatooine for this long? And there was hardly any action at all until the climax.
And I still don't fucking know what kind of faction is this fucking Trade Federation supposed to be. Who are these guys? What business they have with taking over Naboo and what's their association with Darth Sidious at all?
Fuck this idea that "Attack of the Clones is actually the worse one, Phantom Menace is better then Clones" Attack of the Clones was WAY better paced then this movie.
....And it still sucks and ranks very low for me to the point that I don't even consider it the true Star Wars Episode 1.
My Star Wars Prequel Trilogy is Attack of the Clones, Clone Wars (2003 Version), and Revenge of the Sith.
The biggest fucking problem with Phantom Menace is not just Jar Jar or the plot, but the fucking pacing and sequence of events. Events that feels so disconnected to the grander plot.
Like do we need that bigger fish part? Did we need to be in Tatooine for this long? And there was hardly any action at all until the climax.
And I still don't fucking know what kind of faction is this fucking Trade Federation supposed to be. Who are these guys? What business they have with taking over Naboo and what's their association with Darth Sidious at all?
Fuck this idea that "Attack of the Clones is actually the worse one, Phantom Menace is better then Clones" Attack of the Clones was WAY better paced then this movie.
I'd actually say that Phantom is better paced, and is still better.
Phantom has flaws, as you list above, but I still put it above Clones (and a no. of other SW films). Phantom has an overall solid story structure, as flawed as it may be. It's a classical space adventure with understandable stakes. Yeah, we might be a bit hazy as to exactly why the Trade Federation blockades Naboo, but we understand - bad guys, princess flees, (Jedi) knights help her, find "the special," return, restore the kingdom, etc. In contrast, it's hard to say exaclty what kind of film Clones is.
Is it a mystery? Well, it's not that compelling - the Padme assassination sub-plot gets forgotten about, and the mystery side only accounts for Obi-Wan. Is it a romance? Well, again, that's only Anakin, and the romance is lacklustre. Yes, everyone harps on about about sand, but nothing about it is convincing. I actually like the IDEA of Anakin and Padme, but while I can buy Anakin being attracted to her, not so much the opposite, and there's nothing in the film that sells it. In Empire, Han and Leia admit their feelings while on the run and in grim circumstances. Here, Anakin and Padme fall in love while rollicking in fields, like there ISN'T an assassin after her.
Oh, and Anakin's terrible. Not that Anakin was a paragon of character in the previous film, but a kid being a kid is something I can at least understand. Here, I get what Lucas is trying to do, and in terms of plot, Anakin's arc is set up well (e.g. death of his mother, his inability to deal with loss, etc.), but in execution, he comes off as a pouty brat. Sometimes, the dialogue doesn't even make sense, like, Obi-Wan will chastise Anakin for being impulsive, but it's Obi-Wan who smashes through the window to catch the orb. And this all climaxes in a giant shootout between two armies we barely know. The Separatists are bad because reasons, here comes a bunch of white armoured guys to pew-pew-pew, cue an absolutely terrible lightsaber fight. People have pointed out that the Maul duel in the previous film lacks emotional stakes, and yes, they're correct, but at least the fight itself is paced well. The Dooku stuff is just plain bad. Even regardless about how you feel about Yoda, it's poorly shot, poorly paced, and there's no real emotional depths. Again, contrast this to Empire - everything in the film builds up to Luke and Vader confronting each other, and I mean everything. It's what drives Vader, who drives the Empire to pursue Han and Leia, to set up the trap on Bespin, etc. Here? Dooku's just some guy.
Oh, and Boba Fett's here because...reasons. Fine. Sure. Whatever.
Really, the only thing I kind of like in Clones is the Obi-Wan sections on Kamino. There's at least some intrigue there, and him facing off against Jango has some enjoyment. But apart from that, bleh. There's a reason why Clones ranks near the bottom of my Star Wars list, and the only one lower is the Clone Wars movie.
Or, TL, DR:
This.
Basically everything Hawki said.
I also appreciate that The Phantom Menace explores new themes, like community and government, people coming together (the Gungans and Naboo after failing in the Senate, who can't cooperate, and also the mediclorians being in this symbiosis with life). I felt like it had more to say. It's a very flawed, fun, visually attractive movie.
I'm actually really surprised Samtemdo said The Phantom Menace doesn't have enough action, because that's how I feel about Attack of the Clones instead. The first hour of Attack is slow, and the action there is feels tame. Even after the story picks up, there is little to be excited about. The best parts involved Obi-Wan and Jango Fett. I wish it hadn't been Fett, though. I can accept the idea of the army being cloned from a bounty hunter, since a battle-hardened, highly skilled bounty hunter would have ideal genes and abilities, but it's so fanservicey and silly that it's Fett, whose son is a nobody in the original trilogy, later glorified by all the side stories.
The romance is so unrealistic and hammy. I cringe and smile in amusement at Ani's dialogue and how seductively Padme dresses when they're alone with a romantic fire. I don't think Jedi were passionless and celibate before the prequels, so I found this artificial forbidden romance lame. The Jedi became less human and less likable with the prequels. Padme's love for him is unconvincing and the movie did very little to make me like Anakin.
Yoda should never have used a lightsaber. Just as great wizards and sorcerers of magic don't need to use manmade swords.
Count Dooku feels wasted. He tells Obi-Wan that the Senate is being controlled by a Darth Sidious and that the viceroy of the Trade Federation was used by the Sith, then asks him to join him so that they can destroy the Sith. Nothing happens with that, which makes him returning to Sidious at the end of Attack feel weird after everything he told Obi-Wan. Might have been interesting to see Dooku try to betray Sidious in Revenge of the Sith, but instead he is duped into kidnapping his alter ego before anything can happen.
It's a little farfetched that Jango Fett is needed both on Kamino for the cloning and on Geonosis for Dooku's schemes and assassination attempts. The way Obi-Wan gets to Geonosis is farfetched as well. He shows a dart to a cook, who somehow knows it came from Kamino, where he learns about the clones and speaks with Fett, who then attacks him and who he then tracks to the separatist base.
It's so convenient that all the Jedi come to the rescue in the nick of time and then immediately when the battle is lost Yoda shows up with the clone army, like it's so quick and simple to go to the remote Kamino, deliberate with the workers, amass the soldiers and ships and rush to the rescue.
There's far too much CG. Even most of the storm troopers are CG, when they could have easily used real costumes. The Phantom Menace had a lot more models, sets, matte paintings, composited shots and scenes filmed on location. Some of the CG looked pretty bad, but there was less of it. You wanna know why the Trade Federation control ship looked so good in The Phantom Menace? Because it was a six to eight foot model. It was still too early for so much CG. The tech wasn't there yet.
I also appreciate that The Phantom Menace explores new themes, like community and government, people coming together (the Gungans and Naboo after failing in the Senate, who can't cooperate, and also the mediclorians being in this symbiosis with life). I felt like it had more to say. It's a very flawed, fun, visually attractive movie.
I'm actually really surprised Samtemdo said The Phantom Menace doesn't have enough action, because that's how I feel about Attack of the Clones instead. The first hour of Attack is slow, and the action there is feels tame. Even after the story picks up, there is little to be excited about. The best parts involved Obi-Wan and Jango Fett. I wish it hadn't been Fett, though. I can accept the idea of the army being cloned from a bounty hunter, since a battle-hardened, highly skilled bounty hunter would have ideal genes and abilities, but it's so fanservicey and silly that it's Fett, whose son is a nobody in the original trilogy, later glorified by all the side stories.
The romance is so unrealistic and hammy. I cringe and smile in amusement at Ani's dialogue and how seductively Padme dresses when they're alone with a romantic fire. I don't think Jedi were passionless and celibate before the prequels, so I found this artificial forbidden romance lame. The Jedi became less human and less likable with the prequels. Padme's love for him is unconvincing and the movie did very little to make me like Anakin.
Yoda should never have used a lightsaber. Just as great wizards and sorcerers of magic don't need to use manmade swords.
Count Dooku feels wasted. He tells Obi-Wan that the Senate is being controlled by a Darth Sidious and that the viceroy of the Trade Federation was used by the Sith, then asks him to join him so that they can destroy the Sith. Nothing happens with that, which makes him returning to Sidious at the end of Attack feel weird after everything he told Obi-Wan. Might have been interesting to see Dooku try to betray Sidious in Revenge of the Sith, but instead he is duped into kidnapping his alter ego before anything can happen.
It's a little farfetched that Jango Fett is needed both on Kamino for the cloning and on Geonosis for Dooku's schemes and assassination attempts. The way Obi-Wan gets to Geonosis is farfetched as well. He shows a dart to a cook, who somehow knows it came from Kamino, where he learns about the clones and speaks with Fett, who then attacks him and who he then tracks to the separatist base.
It's so convenient that all the Jedi come to the rescue in the nick of time and then immediately when the battle is lost Yoda shows up with the clone army, like it's so quick and simple to go to the remote Kamino, deliberate with the workers, amass the soldiers and ships and rush to the rescue.
There's far too much CG. Even most of the storm troopers are CG, when they could have easily used real costumes. The Phantom Menace had a lot more models, sets, matte paintings, composited shots and scenes filmed on location. Some of the CG looked pretty bad, but there was less of it. You wanna know why the Trade Federation control ship looked so good in The Phantom Menace? Because it was a six to eight foot model. It was still too early for so much CG. The tech wasn't there yet.
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To this day, I've never understood why Boba Fett became a breakout character. FFS, Jango Fett has more character in his film than Boba does in the entire original trilogy.
Were the Jedi ever explored prior to the prequels? I'm not talking about the new order Luke set up in the EU, I'm talking about from the prequel era and further back.
I like the idea of Jedi celibacy. It mirrors numerous real-world organizations, and it works well from a thematic standpoint. The Jedi forbidding love is what drives Anakin and Padme to keep their romance secret, which further drives Anakin to do whatever is necessary to preserve that love, when the Jedi have no answers for him (e.g. in Revenge, Yoda simply tells Anakin to learn to let go). We can debate how effectively it was carried out, but thematically, and in terms of worldbuilding? I'd say it works.
It was the Xmas special. They plopped him in front of the camera for a sec and everyone had an orgasm wondering who he’d be
I like Attack of the Clones more, but that's purely because of the clones. I love the clones, such a great fucking idea. Just like with Boba Fett, they just look cool, and were better explored in the EU. I can see where Samtemdo is coming from though, because the entire Phantom Menace feels so detached from the lore. Episodes II, III, and all the Clone Wars stuff are pretty cohesive, and while Palpatine's master plan is ridiculous, it's also kind of genius.
In Phantom Menace, it's basically Palpatine's schemes all fucking up, and in the end, the only real change to the overall plot is that Anakin is found, and Palpatine becomes the Chancellor. All the important shtick happens in the later movies.
OT: Watched 47 Ronin (with Keanu) last night on a whim. Pretty mediocre movie, with some TERRIBLE cgi, but there were glimpses of greatness in the action scenes. Ultimately, it just made me want to play Ghost of Tsushima more. I was surprised to learn that they're going to make a sequel to this movie, because it ends pretty definitively. But hey, I'll watch more Keanu sure.
In Phantom Menace, it's basically Palpatine's schemes all fucking up, and in the end, the only real change to the overall plot is that Anakin is found, and Palpatine becomes the Chancellor. All the important shtick happens in the later movies.
Yup, mostly in comics. And we're talking OLDDDD Republic, like Sith used actual metal swords old. The Jedi were not really centralized as they are in the Prequels, and many of them acted independently of others, with their own teachings and belieds. But from what I remember, celibacy was not a thing with them.
OT: Watched 47 Ronin (with Keanu) last night on a whim. Pretty mediocre movie, with some TERRIBLE cgi, but there were glimpses of greatness in the action scenes. Ultimately, it just made me want to play Ghost of Tsushima more. I was surprised to learn that they're going to make a sequel to this movie, because it ends pretty definitively. But hey, I'll watch more Keanu sure.
If his filmography has proven anything, it's that Keanu is better with guns than swords.
It's funny you say that, there were actually guns in the movie, old flintlocks and stuff. But that kind of gun-fu could actually be really cool. I always like how in AssCreed IV Black Flag, when you shot your pistols in quick succession Edward would prance around like he was doing gun-kata and just toss his used pistols aside like a badass.If his filmography has proven anything, it's that Keanu is better with guns than swords.
I just watched the 7th Tremors movie, Tremors: Shrieker Island. Yes; there was a 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and now 7th Tremors movie (depending on where you stopped caring.) How was it? Well, it was better than the 6th movie. Which was slightly better than the 5th movie. Not as good as the 4th movie, and about on par with the 3rd which wasn't nearly as good as the sequel... the inferior followup to the original.
Specifics... the only returning character is Michael Gross' Burt Gummer. There is one character who had been mentioned in previous movies but makes her debut here. And Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder is this go-around's sidekick (and a look how far this guy has fallen role.) Shriekers are the title threat... although they are about the least capable iterations of the monster (according to the lore.) However, a large graboid is actually the main threat. The movie begins, the graboids kill some folks on an island, someone says they need Burt Gummer, he shows up and they kill graboids, final showdown, the end. There, I saved you the time... don't bother.
Unless you want to see HUGE SPOILER ALERT INCOMING
Was that a satisfying ending? I'd turn that around and ask, was it a satisfying movie? Because there is your answer... no. This horse was being beaten while still lukewarm at the 4th movie. At this point whats left of the corpse doesn't even resemble a horse anymore. If I'm giving a rating... maybe 3.5/10.
Specifics... the only returning character is Michael Gross' Burt Gummer. There is one character who had been mentioned in previous movies but makes her debut here. And Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder is this go-around's sidekick (and a look how far this guy has fallen role.) Shriekers are the title threat... although they are about the least capable iterations of the monster (according to the lore.) However, a large graboid is actually the main threat. The movie begins, the graboids kill some folks on an island, someone says they need Burt Gummer, he shows up and they kill graboids, final showdown, the end. There, I saved you the time... don't bother.
Unless you want to see HUGE SPOILER ALERT INCOMING
Burt Gummer die. Yes, they killed the character. And that abruptly ends the movie. He dies, they look sad, they put some stuff on his empty grave (he was exploded into some chunks and a fine mist,) and that was the end.
Because has the look of:
HUNK from the Resident Evil games have the exact problem. He has this huge fan-base despite not doing much. All he did was get a sample of the G-Virus out of Racoon City. He's was just another sociopathic soldier, except he would never betray Umbrella. Granted, he got a little more characterization in Umbrella Chronicles, but that was after the fact. He became sociopathic soldier that follows Umbrella's orders to the point of being a religion, and did not hold much empathy for losing his squad or other team mates. RE2Remake actually made him nicer and slightly more caring. To the point that "Survival is your responsibility." has its context changed.
They made a 7?! I stopped watching after the 4th film and TV series. Granted, I watched the 5th film (the one in Africa) on SyFy on a whim and found it okay. I know the 6th takes place in Alaska(?), because of all the ice. But I never saw it. Why do they keep making these? This has gone on longer than the Land Before Time , American Pie, or the Scorpion King "sequels". Granted, the Tremors sequels still comes off better by comparison to those shitty sequels.
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