Calling it now: Pluto is going to be MVP/anime of the year. It is in my book, and it ain't even out on Netflix yet.
Movie, TV, Web Series, and Music Hot Take(s).
- Thread starter BrawlMan
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Trying to find the best way to phrase this: a while back, the sort of person who whines about diversity in media would usually end up with a phrase like "They're just checking boxes. What's next, a black lesbian in a wheel chair? Lmao" and I have to wonder if there was any cross cultural contamination of that anti-diversity meme.
Because Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury, a Japanese anime, ends with the protagonist being a disabled brown lesbian. It's like, chud armageddon.
Because Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury, a Japanese anime, ends with the protagonist being a disabled brown lesbian. It's like, chud armageddon.
Though not lesbian, there is a disabled black woman in the Dark Tower novel franchise that's a main character around the second or third book.
Those that whine about diversity can whine even more now. Cry like the bitches you are.
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I may have already mentionned this in a james bond thread, but I really really don't like when franchises become tom&jerry, establishing one heroic saviour of the world and one evil baddie threatening it, and pitting them against each other like there was no other solution for that trouble and no other trouble for that solution. Like whetever problem james bond faces, it comes from blofeld, whatever problem blofeld faces it comes from james bond. Ghostbusters and shandor. Quite often in movies, holmes and moriarty. It's not even "oh this is a case for" (which would work for something like dracula being the only vampire in the world and van helsing the only vampire hunter in the world, or neyland smith being the only person aware of fu manchu's secret war against british civilization), it's just "what a mystery i wonder who's behind it this time". The world in closed circuit. A very very small one.
I'm really happy the Indiana Jones series wasn't just three Indiana Jones versus Belloq. Or that the Dirty Harry franchise wasn't just the adventures of Scorpio. But shoehorning Weyland-Yutani in avery Alien movie is ridiculous, and Robocop had other things to do than playing whack-a-mole with the OCP executives. These things end up feeling so domestic.
I often criticize superhero comics, including for the pointlesness of their recurring villains (and the hypocrisy of their ostensible anti-capital-punishment stances) but at least it's largely mitigated by the variety of each superhero's assigned roster of superbaddies.
I'm really happy the Indiana Jones series wasn't just three Indiana Jones versus Belloq. Or that the Dirty Harry franchise wasn't just the adventures of Scorpio. But shoehorning Weyland-Yutani in avery Alien movie is ridiculous, and Robocop had other things to do than playing whack-a-mole with the OCP executives. These things end up feeling so domestic.
I often criticize superhero comics, including for the pointlesness of their recurring villains (and the hypocrisy of their ostensible anti-capital-punishment stances) but at least it's largely mitigated by the variety of each superhero's assigned roster of superbaddies.
Indiana Jones was always inspired by adventure serials, where the hero(es) would almost never face the same villain in each episode or pulp novel.
The villains in the third movie are fucking weak though!
It at least made sense for the first two movies. Especially when Cameron took the helm for Aliens, as it's the focus of unchecked greed and capitalism. Building off on what was left from the first film by Scott. It's a theme in nearly all of Cameron's films outside of Aliens. The rest of the Alien movies are bad fan fics with Fox having no idea what the fuck they are doing.
In the first Robocop, there was really only the one OCP guy, Dick. The movie was more about Murphy getting payback and finding his humanity again. Robocop 2 you kind of have a point, but the drug dealer, Cain, was the main villain of the movie. Robocop 3, it's technically not even OCP anymore, as they're bought out by some Japanese conglomerate. I am not even going to get into either cartoon adaptions, nor the short run live action TV series. I've not touched either of those in decades.
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That's okay, we're all allowed objectively wrong opinions sometimes.
What? Blofeld is only in a fraction of all the Bond films ever made (unless you're referring to the Craig era).
Um...
Okay, you're right technically - WY, or a WY predecessor, has appeared in 6 of the 8 Alien films, but I don't see that as an issue. Alien 1-3 form a natural trilogy from Ripley's perspective, and WY's always a part of that. If we're talking about the wider IP, I kind of agree (things get really silly by the Rage War era for instance in regards to WY refusing to stay dead), but WY's far from the only offender. If anything, the USCMC being omniprescent irritates me more, because at least WY has an excuse, the USCMC is just one branch of one power 22nd/23rd century power bloc, but apparently, they're the only group that ever actually does anything bar a few exceptions, and they're apparently so damn awesome that the Human Sphere got its own Colonial Marines, because yay for brand recognition?
Okay, our differences over the Alien IP are well established, but even with all that aside, I don't know how you can say that WY doesn't fit Alien 3. Their presence fits narratively (they want the xenomorph), it fits thematically (this is a cold bleak universe where WY is insanely powerful, so of course Ripley can't escape them any more than she can escape the xenomorph), it fits sequentially (WY's gone from a vaguely represented "Company" in the first film, to having a concrete, even somewhat benign presence in the second, to having paramilitary forces in the third).
As for Aliens being "anticapitalist" and all of Cameron's films following suit...debatable. In the scope of the original trilogy, Aliens is probably the least "anticapitalist" of the three. Alien 1 has the subtext of "the Company" being quite happy to sacrifice its crew for the sake of obtaining the xenomorph, there's the running undercurrent of AIs supplanting humans (MTHR, Ash), etc. Alien 3 has WY as a purely malignant entity, able to operate with impunity, apparently so malignant that Ripley's sacrifice of herself to prevent them from obtaining the xenomorph is presented as a messianic moment. In contrast, what's there in Aliens? WY is pretty much on the level, whereas everything that goes wrong is down to Burke and Burke alone. It's debatable whether the board execs are genuinely ignorant about Ripley's account with the xenomorph or are covering their tracks, but that's about as malignant as WY gets in the film.
Also, if we're talking about Cameron's films, while I haven't seen all of them...well, Avatar 1 and 2, certainly (broadly speaking). But apart from that? There's nothing in True Lies or T1 that could fit under the banner. T2, sort of, but only tangentally. There's nothing particuarly malignant about Cyberdyne, Dyson is hardly Scrooge McDuck, you can certainly draw criticisms of the military industrial complex (given how Dyson's design was meant for passenger planes, but ends up being used for stealth bombers and NORAD), but this ties into the wider theme of the dangers of AI and whatnot. There's not really anything "anticapitalist" about that.
Absent
And twice is the only way to live.
- Jan 25, 2023
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- 118
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- Switzerland
- Gender
- The boring one
Only because of the thunderball dispute. They weren't allowed to use blofeld legally (and they tried). As soon as that was lifted, it's blofeld blofeld blofeld blofeld. Technically it doesn't matter much (the legal constraint was removed late enough and the Craig films are a different series anyway), but the underlying intent is irritating.
As for Alien, WY was just the company. One greedy corporation in the world. And then it became the one big evil empire baddie controlling the universe and beyond because geekland needs dr claw.
And yes, after Aliens and all the kids finding the marines super cool, they became the protagonists of every spin off, but indeed you know my opinion of spin offs, so I just roll the eyes and ditch that. What happens in the movies annoys me a bit more.
It could have been a good franchise. Thematically. But of course, technically, financially, as all franchises, it was bound to drift away to dumber and dumber movies, Jaws-like.
I just started watching this series and I was frankly shocked at seeing a plus-sized woman treated with sincerity. I mean, she was a side character and I don't know if she'll ever show up again, but for an anime it was like seeing a unicorn.
There's 20 Bond films in the original series, Blofeld appears in 6 of them. In essence, 30% of the films, and all front-loaded. I don't know how you can say Blofeld dominates the Bond series when he never appeared post-Moore.
I really don't get this criticism. You're complaining about WY being an "evil empire," but that's only true outside the films themselves. WY is hardly omniprescent in the Alien films. Immensely powerful, yes, but hardly an "empire." And even then, WY doesn't "control the universe," at least not until the period of the Rage War trilogy. Heck, the UPP wouldn't tolerate WY operating anywhere near them for instance, and they're one of the three major power blocs of the 22nd/23rd centuries.
I don't care. It's been a long minute since I've seen Alien 3, but it still not good and its first mistake was making the first two films pointless. Like it all you want, I don't give a shit. It's your opinion, not mine. I don't know why you keep obsessing over my opinions on the sequels. As far as I am concerned, none of them are good after Aliens. Deal with it. Because I am tired of this conversation. Been done too many times.
Ain't no "debatable". Cameron is still criticizing/pointing unempathetic corporate greed and capitalism in Aliens. Hell, that board meeting Ripley has with those WY higher ups after she wakes from stasis, don't believe her story (somewhat understandable), but are still pretty cold/apathetic to her plight. While some of its played ambiguously in Aliens, and we have only Burke's word, it still would not surprise anyone that some or all of the higher ups at WY are involved in his plan. Alien 3 you have a point, but once again, dog shit sequel, so it means nothing to me in the grand scheme of things. There are only Alien and Aliens; end of discussion.
Maybe not all [I did say nearly all] (I meant to say a lot), but it's still a common theme of either corporate greed, those abusing their authority, or hiding behind something like class. It's a theme that does pop in Titanic when it comes to the wealthy and high class abusing or looking down on those that are less fortunate or poor. As much as I dislike the movie, I noticed this. BTW, I did not say anything about T2, but there still a theme of character hiding behind/infiltrating an authoritative roll (T-1000) to make things worse. Not to mention the whole remember to keep your humanity in check and not turn into "He/She/They Who Fight Monsters" as with Sarah Connor. Plus, shortsightedness, greed, and fear is still a factor that led to Skynet becoming self-aware and causing the apocalypse. Dyson was a man just doing his own thing, while the military wanted to use his tech/AI for weaponry. Money still becomes a big factor at the end of the day. Capitalism, corporations, and the military industrial complex aren't mutually exclusive. To think so otherwise is foolish. Especially in today's time.
Someone or people with the highest of authority, removed human decisions from strategic defense. That's a really dumb move.
Different case, similar theme, but it reminds me of this dialogue from RE2Remake.
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Oh, Roger Delgado's Master in 3rd Doctor Who. He was under contract, so every story it was "It's the Master". And the Doctor was reluctant to try very hard to permanently deal with him.
G Witch is really good with body diversity, I love their fat characters a lot. The enemy ace from the pilot shows back up and the intervening years + command duties really show. But it's not, like, a joke, which is refreshing
I wish people online would shut up about Elementals and Ruby Gillman failing at the box office. It's not that people don't want to see original titles, it's that June is fucking over crowded, and not everybody can afford to see every single film. Especially at these overly expensive prices. Elementals I don't care for, but Ruby I will see at some point. Either way, both Pixar and DreamWorks will bounce back fine. DreamWorks has the only one flop right now any way.
At least this guy has the right idea.
At least this guy has the right idea.
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The Made in Abyss community is so funny. So the latest manga volume front cover art has just been revealed and it depicts two young girls posing together making bedroom eyes, wearing midriff exposing outfits that reveals the lowest set of their dog nipples (look, I don't know!) and the overwhelming reaction in the subreddit is "Oh god, why must he do these things?!" And these are the fans of the series! It's just funny seeing the people who defend the series on the basis of "yeah there's some skeevy stuff, but it's all for the sake of the horror and world building!" be constantly let down by the author.
(I want to make it clear that I don't approve of it any more than they do, I just don't consider myself a fan.)
(I want to make it clear that I don't approve of it any more than they do, I just don't consider myself a fan.)
At this point they should either drop the series, or stop complaining and shouldn't expect much better. Whenever it's series I am not enjoying, or there's a drop in quality, I'll stop watching, playing, or reading. I rarely would ever try to get through something terrible kicking and screaming on through it. Even back then as a kids, if I knew something was shit or got the feeling something was not right, I would go out of my way to avoid it. As for the author/mangaka artist, I am getting multiple red flags and want nothing to do with him.
You know it's crazy when anime Cutey Honey (most of Go Nagai's works) have better restraints and class than Made In Abyss ever could.
Brawl, you're sidestepping the point. I'm not asking how you feel about Alien 3 (I know how you feel), I'm asking how WY doesn't fit the film. It's like me asking how the US Army does or doesn't fit AvP: Requiem. I can say it simultaniously fits the film, while the film itself is dogshit. Those are two separate things.
If so, that's a needlessly convoluted plan. WY already has some level of control over LV-426. Burke mentions stuff like the CA being involved, but if WY really wanted to investigate, they could just send in an actually prepped team rather than a wildcutter on the faint hope that things would turn out alright.
I more or less agree, but any "anticapitalism" that might be gained from T2 is tertiary to the main themes. Heck, Genisys would arguably fit the "anticapitalist" theme more, since Cyberdyne is the one pushing Genisys rather than the military appropriating the technology per se. Or alternatively, compare it to Battle Across Time, where the Cyberdyne "we're evil corporates" is laid on thick.
That's fine. I don't care about Alien 3 in general. I am mainly referring to Scott with Alien, and Cameron with Aliens respectively. As I far as I am concerned whatever it does have over the others with themes, ain't much of an improvement worth wasting 2+hours on.
Not by much, considering what was already laid out in the original. The sequels after Aliens make it so much worse and stupid with the bad writing. Scott and Cameron knew what they were doing at least.
Still counts and point was already made and proven. Like it or not. T2 has other themes in the front and fore center, but it is still there, whether you choose to see it or not.
Yeah, but that's bad fanfiction made into live action, so it doesn't count in my book. There are only three Terminator films T1, T2, and Salvation. Salvation ain't perfect, but at least actually tried and had the movie in the future with some honest to God good action, most importantly.
Real Talk: Not trying to come off as a jerk, but I really don't care what other sequels have better themes or whatever. All the later sequels to Terminator (anything after T2 aside from Salvation), Alien (anything after Aliens), and Predator (anything after Predator 2, aside from Predators & Prey) all suck and are a waste of mine and other peoples time. You can defend whatever ones you want until the moon hits the Earth. I don't care, and I am sick of the back and forth, whenever I express an opinion about these specific franchises. I'm done. There is nothing left to add, and I am going on about my evening. Move on to something else. You are never going to change my mind on this. Enjoy the movies, and that is all you need.
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I don't see this as a big issue. Not everything needs sex appeal, nor having a "love interest/Bond Girl" that is forgotten about/killed off by the next installment. I can't even bother to remember any of Ethan's love interests from past movies at all. I'd say the problem with blockbusters from the past is that many relied on too much sex appeal. Ironic, as when DT was Spill at the time, that was at least some of their complaints with the Bayverse Transformer movies. What changed now? It's seems most people in the comments section agree with me.
I mean, it's not for lack of trying. Blockbusters aren't exactly shy about sharing the body destroying training regimens involved in trying to sculpt the perfect Adonis for CapeMask 7: Rise of the Villain
My hot take is that it's not *just* that Hollywood producers are catastrophically bad at knowing how real actual people look and think, but that it's due to the slavish devotion to the three act blockbuster structure itself. There's barely enough time for the hero to get any development himself unless it's The Point Of The Movie. Blockbusters have been leaning on everybody just knowing the tropes that they've stopped even going through the motions
My hot take is that it's not *just* that Hollywood producers are catastrophically bad at knowing how real actual people look and think, but that it's due to the slavish devotion to the three act blockbuster structure itself. There's barely enough time for the hero to get any development himself unless it's The Point Of The Movie. Blockbusters have been leaning on everybody just knowing the tropes that they've stopped even going through the motions