Movie, TV, Web Series, and Music Hot Take(s).

[Hawki]

2023 is still the early 21st century, replicants were invented a few years before androids, and "completely decimated" is still something to bounce back from provided sufficient advancements in technology.

That's really understating how bad environmental collapse can get. I'll spare you a lecture on hypothetical tipping points, but the biosphere isn't just something you can tinker with - if an ecosystem collapses, it can take decades alone for it to start recovering (look at the Aral Sea for instance).

But even if that was the case, you'd have to explain how humanity had extraplanetary colonies by 2019, then spent the duration of the 21st century developing space travel to, um, found extra-planetary colonies.

In fact, Jake in Avatar watches news about species revival with cloned tigers, so that's apart of the recovery process right there. Although I think this means I should put Avatar entirely before Alien then.

Again, Avatar and Alien can't be in the same universe, primarily because the tech doesn't line up.

In Aliens, FTL travel had been developed by the 2080s at the latest. By the timeframe of Prometheus, extra-planetary colonies existed, by 2122 (the timeframe of Alien), FTL travel, while requiring months of cryo-time, is still feasible. By 2179 (Aliens), what once took months (Zeta 2 Reticuli to Sol) now takes weeks.

Avatar takes place in 2154, Way of Water takes place in 2170. By both cases, humanity doesn't possess FTL tech, by 2169, Earth is in full ecological collapse to the point where colonizing Pandora is the only option. None of this matches Aliens.

One can have fun doing crossovers, but it's impossible for them to be in the same universe.

 

[BrawlMan]

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[Thaluikhain]

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Also, the ones that are just bad theme park version of medieval England over and over again. And never even try something as exotic as bad theme park versions of medieval Scotland instead.

 

[Piscian]

*Netflix watching the reviews roll in for Poker Face*

 

[Absent]

Hot take warning. This is going to be hot. Like, death-defying hot. Not absolutely certain I'll physically survive having dare to put that opinion out. It's the forum equivalent of suicide by cop. But there we go :

I think that people can be stupid, and their stupidity can be pointed out, without them having to lose their job if their ability to do their job is unaffected by that stupidity.

In practice : I think that actors have the right to be ignorant loudmouths and (even if kicked out of public discussions, I'm not a free speech absolutists) keep acting. Because playing pretend a character in front a a camera, if done well, has nothing to do with holding dumb opinions. And because you can like (or dislike) a fictional character without liking (or disliking) the person whose job is to pretend being them. Sometimes good people play bad guys, some times bad guys play good people. It's called acting. Both are allowed.

Famous last words.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Hot take warning. This is going to be hot. Like, death-defying hot. Not absolutely certain I'll physically survive having dare to put that opinion out. It's the forum equivalent of suicide by cop. But there we go :

I think that people can be stupid, and their stupidity can be pointed out, without them having to lose their job if their ability to do their job is unaffected by that stupidity.

In practice : I think that actors have the right to be ignorant loudmouths and (even if kicked out of public discussions, I'm not a free speech absolutists) keep acting. Because playing pretend a character in front a a camera, if done well, has nothing to do with holding dumb opinions. And because you can like (or dislike) a fictional character without liking (or disliking) the person whose job is to pretend being them. Sometimes good people play bad guys, some times bad guys play good people. It's called acting. Both are allowed.

Famous last words.

While true in a vacuum, you have to consider association with said "dumb people" and how it can affect those around them and those that employ them. Extremes always hit the point home, so if Tom Hanks was an outspoken neo Nazi and still a brilliant actor, who in their right mind would attempt to rationally separate the former from the latter and not expect to have their own name scathed?

That said, I think we, as a society, have gotten overly sensitive, and many talented people have been "cancelled" for really dumb reasons.

 

[Piscian]

Hot take warning. This is going to be hot. Like, death-defying hot. Not absolutely certain I'll physically survive having dare to put that opinion out. It's the forum equivalent of suicide by cop. But there we go :

I think that people can be stupid, and their stupidity can be pointed out, without them having to lose their job if their ability to do their job is unaffected by that stupidity.

In practice : I think that actors have the right to be ignorant loudmouths and (even if kicked out of public discussions, I'm not a free speech absolutists) keep acting. Because playing pretend a character in front a a camera, if done well, has nothing to do with holding dumb opinions. And because you can like (or dislike) a fictional character without liking (or disliking) the person whose job is to pretend being them. Sometimes good people play bad guys, some times bad guys play good people. It's called acting. Both are allowed.

Famous last words.

I mean were essentially talking about the Gina Carano scenario. I think if you look at it historically actors and directors have always been nutty. The problem lies with the mass reach of social media. Lots of actors in the 40-50 were openly racist or just sex weirdos, but their opinions were kept to the tabloids. Gina Carano didn't say shit in passing at lunch. She "preached" it to a large target audience. That puts her employers in an untenable position because she also had a contract that shes "selling" the content, so it removes that divide between her social media and disneys.

Its worth noting celebrities say dumb shit all the time, but the smart ones just have their private or interpersonal opinions and leave it at that. I can recall a few instances where actors had "opinions", but got left alone because they aren't bothering anybody. They aren't advertising their opinion on social media.

IMHO if celebrities don't want to be intertwined with the promotion of their hired content then they need to stipulate that in the contract. Some do actually. I know a number of actors who say "Nope, no press", ironically though these same actors often aren't even on the internet.

 

[Hawki]

Also, the ones that are just bad theme park version of medieval England over and over again. And never even try something as exotic as bad theme park versions of medieval Scotland instead.

We need more versions of medieval Wales.

They've got a dragon on their flag FFS!

 

[Thaluikhain]

We need more versions of medieval Wales.

They've got a dragon on their flag FFS!

I think after Torchwood people decided on no more SF shows set in Wales.

 

[XsjadoBlaydette]

While not a fan, I don't think Skinnamarink is pretentious. But it undoubtedly energises a lot of people who would comfortably fall under such a descriptor. It also appears to appeal specifically to people who have certain common childhood memory of a certain common childhood nightmare. Which I don't, for whatever cocktail of reasons. So even watching it alone at night in as optimal horror conditions as you could get, it did not engage or inspire fear, beyond like maybe 2 creepy shots around the end. By that point I was more than ready for it to be over. Apparently is based on short story too, a format much more suitable for the amount it ultimately tells you. Is disappointing cause am very much into weird experimental horrors, but this wasn't even that weird: it's essentially just a very basic premise presented in a different style. I do think the ppl claiming it's "the scariest movie ever seen!" are bloody mad though. And some are comparing it to Blair Witch Project, but they're mad too, cause at least Blair Witch had people who talked and had motivation instead of silent walls, doors and corners!

 

[BrawlMan]

Die Hard 3 was alright, though apparently it was going to be a Lethal Weapon movie, but they modified the script a little. 4 was just bad.

Die Hard With A Vengeance is awesome. Second best movie in the franchise. The only one I actually hate is the fifth movie. Nobody was trying on that one. Especially Bruce Willis.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Less of a hot take as I’m sure other people take issue with this too, so it’s more like a mini rant:

Most movies and TV shows - especially steaming it seems - have absolutely horrible sound mixing when it’s time for dialog. Without any tweaking (which shouldn’t be needed in the first place) it’s like the dialog volume is somehow only at 2 while anything else is already at 10. So typically it’s a near constant juggling act with turning the volume up to fucking hear what anyone’s saying, and then ten seconds later there’s an ear-bleeding crescendo of either the soundtrack or some other sound effects like explosions or gunfire.

It’s like, how difficult is it to pipe audio through the center channel so it’s not a night and day difference from everything else. Maybe I’m just getting old, because it bothers me most at night when I’m trying to unwind.

Yeah, so to substantiate the above and that I’m not just being senile -

 

[Cicada 5]

W.I.T.C.H. deserved to last longer than Winx Club.

Friends isn't a bad show. But there are better ones.

 

[BrawlMan]

Friends isn't a bad show. But there are better ones.

I somewhat disagree with you there. I do consider it a bad show, but it's not the worst. My problem is that Friends is so uninteresting and boring. There's really nothing interesting or likable about the characters involved. The fact that they decided to bring this show back, similar to Full House makes me even less invested. And that show I didn't like even more so, because it was one Kodak moment after a another.

Living Single is so much better.

 

[Absent]

Haven't seen Villeneuve's Dune(s) yet, mostly holding out until I get proof that the story will be completed. But still. I'm terribly angry at its color grading. It's Arrakis, it's HOT, it's SUNNY. I understand that we are in the Age of Grey and manic-depressive imagery, we've had 20 years of superhero movies without one hint of colour on the costumes, but when you're supposed to convey the heat of a scorching desert, you DON'T film it like a scandinavian murder mystery. What's WRONG with you ?

 

[BrawlMan]

I understand that we are in the Age of Grey and manic-depressive imagery,

No, that kind of already happened. A lot of movies in the late 2000s and early 2010 suffer from gunmetal gray and brownitus. Mostly action films. Of course, we can't forget the 7th generation of consoles. There are plenty of movies with color, and the superhero genre's no exception. Yeah, I know there's the Zack Snyder films he personally directed, but most of the DCEU has a great color palette; costumes and everything. Some Marvel films have a great color palette, depending on which ones you are talking about. Otherwise, most of their colors are generic rather than dull grey.

Otherwise, I agree with you on the rest.

 

[Cicada 5]

Haven't seen Villeneuve's Dune(s) yet, mostly holding out until I get proof that the story will be completed. But still. I'm terribly angry at its color grading. It's Arrakis, it's HOT, it's SUNNY. I understand that we are in the Age of Grey and manic-depressive imagery, we've had 20 years of superhero movies without one hint of colour on the costumes, but when you're supposed to convey the heat of a scorching desert, you DON'T film it like a scandinavian murder mystery. What's WRONG with you ?

Um, which superhero movies have you watched?

 

[Absent]

Um, which superhero movies have you watched?

Too many snyder thingies (including his version of watchmen) and too many x-men. It's true, the MCU put some colors back into that.

 

[BrawlMan]

Too many snyder thingies (including his version of watchmen) and

That really only applies to Man Of Steel (there is color even if it's a little washed out), Batman V. Superman, and his actual version of the Justice League. 300 was in 2007, and that was more of a golden bronze pallete accurate to the coloring of the comic book. So we'll give him credit there.

too many x-men

X-Men 3 was in 2006. After that, they never used the black leather suits ever again. Thankfully. Fuck off forever Brian Synger (I know X3 was Brett Ratner, but Synger's design choice still existed)!

It's true, the MCU put some colors back into that.

Don't forget about Raimi's Spider-Man Trilogy.

 

[XsjadoBlaydette]

I got lucky enough to see Dune in the cinema and honestly don't remember seeing any daylight scenes on the planet looking washed out. It all looked suitably hot and shiny. The other scenes set on different planets were, especially war planet, but not Dune's as far as am aware.