Posted on 05/31/2017 11:52:16 AM PDT by Hojczyk
I’d rather watch the corn grow in Nebraska, one hell of a lot more entertaining!
AND BENIFICIAL to boot.
For real! It was bad enough when the retreads started. Then it was movies made from TV. The movies made from comic books. Now it's movies made from BAD TV.
Stay tuned for this summer's blockbuster hit: Hello, Larry: The Epic.
“The shared universe addiction really needs to go away.”
I like it with the MCU, not with the DCU and am, at best, lukewarm with the remakes of the old Universal horror films. I’m intrigued by Bride of Frankenstein (supposedly they’re trying to sign Jolie for the role) and whatever they come up with for Dracula (if you haven’t already read the original Stoker novel, I highly recommend it).
Ant-Man kind of sucked, but otherwise MAKE MINE MARVEL!!! GotG 2 just reached $800 M in world-wide box office. Spider-Man Homecoming will be Marvel/Sony big test of the summer. Does anyone really want to see a 3rd incarnation of the web-slinger? I have my doubts...
The MCU works because the MU works and that’s how the MU has always worked, it’s a tightly integrated universe. The DCU fails because that’s never been how DC worked, they were always very loosely integrated (it took almost a year for the death of Jason Todd to even be mentioned in another Batman title, it’s a siloed world).
I don’t mind the idea of getting the dust off the Universal monsters, that could be fun. Especially in this modern age of movie theaters that serve alcohol, it’s good to have wine with a cheesy movie. But don’t tie them together, they’ll just screw that up. The crossover movies of old were really just the sign that the well was running dry, starting off that way just screams to me the well is already dry.
I definitely want to see the new Spidey, I like the fact that they’re going with a young kid, and a smart move to skip the origin story. If he’s anything like he was in Civil War it’ll be fun, and I’m all for Marisa Tomei as his suspiciously hot aunt. Also it hits when I start my birthday vacation, and Planet of the Apes at the end, gonna be a good vacation.
We’re done with MCU. Why? The actors all are horrible liberals, from Evans, Ruffalo, johanssen, etc. We aren’t going to pay these bozos another dime. Yes, we saw Guardians 2 and laughed our butts off. We loved Russell and Pratt, both of whom are not liberal know it alls.
Not bothering with Spider-Man either.
We read the original comics, we still own them, but politics and the awful Captain America 3, just have ruined it for us. Ultron was not a good movie either. Shield was also a bad tv show. Gave up on it after a few episodes.
I don’t think we will be the only ones walking away from the next avengers flick.
The United States should do the same. :)
“The MCU works because the MU works and that’s how the MU has always worked, it’s a tightly integrated universe.”
Marvel had a vision (no pun intended) starting with the first Iron Man movie with Nick Fury talking to Tony Stark about The Avengers. They’ve been building a plot toward Infinity Wars at least since the first Captain America movie with the introduction of the Cosmic Cube. Feige has done a masterful job in building a franchise. I can’t think of another movie franchise that comes even close.
I also agree with you about the DCU movies. Besides making a lot of mediocre movies (Dark Knight being the exception, only because of Heath Ledger) their attempts at integration seem forced and their movies pretty lousy. I can’t even think of one that had good action scenes. The two Russo brothers’ Captain America movies, in my opinion, are among the best action movies of all time.
We’ll see about Spider-Man. In the first trailer I saw, he looked too much like Gumby in the action scenes. The latest trailer I saw made the movie seem more appealing.
Didn’t you like the Abbot and Costello Universal monster movies? As I kid, I thought they were great.
Abbot and Costello are different. Their entire franchise was built on old sets. That’s why they crossed over so much, it was all about using the sets of a movie that just wrapped before they got torn down for the next. Never really got into them though.
“The Chalking II - Hexacryomageddon” was pretty good.
Remakes, sequels, crappy writing, unlikable actors, expensive tickets, political agendas, and superior home viewing experience are keeping people away.
I don’t know if you’re including The Razor’s Edge among your three, but John Banner’s brief appearance is one example of why people today often don’t know just how bad their movies suck.
Consider the difference between Manchurian Candidates.
The remake had all the dramatic cinematography and camera angles, fantastic soundtrack and was well acted with an updated story ... and is nevertheless fundamentally inferior to the classic in ways it’s hard to define. Yet there is just no comparison. And it’s not all Angela Lansbury.
Modern movie makers have the craft of image making down pat, even if some are notorious for abusing it (I joke that Abrams and Bay are going to collaborate and bring us the first major motion picture with exploding lens flare) but when it comes to story telling they have forgotten too much.
They are too often mere technicians, even brilliant technicians, rarely story tellers.
I say this as someone who has done some writing (I inflict fanfictions on the world) and understand that, though editing is a *****, the best words on the page mean nothing if they aren’t the best lines for the doings.
BTW ... here is something, still not really polished, from a book in the fanfiction series (from a later book barely started, 2 on line now) I may never complete:
Prelude: War Dawn
Megatron mutely watched the duel from the wings of the amphitheater.
The combatants had been introduced as C00973 and C10889, but from the cheering fans in the bleachers other names were shouted amid applause: “Traitors” and “Rebels” and “Scum.”
The Decepticon Commander grimaced at hearing them ... fangrys, from “fan” and “angry,” a term given to “respectable” citizens who still act morally outraged even when they’ve shown up in hopes seeing some poor mech loose his life for their entertainment. He took notice of each and every fangry that he could see, sure that his people present in the stands were taking notice of them too.
Well, all except the undisguised Starscream in his seat in the Warden’s box. He was too busy cheering on C10889 as he ran his sword into C00973’s chest.
The fight: a foregone conclusion.
The last time he’d personally fought against Nonaton he could tell that he just didn’t want to be there anymore. The creds no longer mattered. The street-fame was meaningless. He was just trapped with no way out and no desire to go forward. That’s all there was to it.
It was fitting that it was Quickstrike that was doing the honors, as they were brothers.
The crowd thought they were witnessing a dual between gladiators; but, it was really a mercy killing as spectacle.
It would be the last time!
Nonaton had recovered his poise from being stabbed and managed a glancing blow to Quickstrike’s head while the latter performed an over intricate spiral turn that ended with his sword passing cleanly through his brother’s chest at spark containment level.
Quick and painless.
Quickstrike’s patented finishing move that, like so much else about this particular fight, was not at all what it seemed.
Seeing the victor momentarily cradle his brother’s head in a hand before rising with sword held high to receive the thunderous applause of the crowd was just enough to make Megatron glance away.
Despite everything ... there were still some things that could reach him.
They carried Nonaton out the other side of the arena, through the Gate of the Dead. A quick stroll from the smelting pools.
“Thank you, from both of us.” Quickstrike said as he walked past him through the Gate of the Living.
Megatron nodded.
He was alone in the gate.
The announcer was expecting that he would be there with C00072.
But that wasn’t to be.
They called for them by announcing their records, C11972 — undefeated — and C00072 — undefeated. The stands were going wild. Two of the very few elite warriors who had never met in battle were here. The last two undefeated champions.
But that wasn’t to be.
Megatron was going to walk out through the gate, not C11972. In one hand he clutched a badge of Combaticon purple. In the other, a crown of three golden spires.
The announcer called again for the combatants.
Then a third time as the audience finally began settling down in a big way. Sounds of confusion replacing their cheers.
“Somewhere,” Megatron silently mused, “Swindle is doing his best to get away with the bets that he’s probably been taking until just now.”
Shockwave referred to it as “creative financing” ... but it was making book on spark separation no matter how you parsed it.
At the appointed time, without haste, without showmanship, and without applause from the confused crowd: Megatron strolled out to the middle of the small arena like he was walking to a daily debriefing. There was a wave of hushed questions that echoed around the stands. He picked out someone saying that he had to be C11972 even though his appearance had changed.
Then he held aloft the badge.
In response, others around the arena likewise stood up, purple badges held high, their weapons ready. Even Starscream hadn’t missed his cue.
Mechs hailing from all over Cybertron, most badgeless now, were looking about in confusion.
At the appointed moment Megatron lowered the badge to his chest and applied it in solemn silence. A move repeated by all his allies everywhere on Cybertron at that exact moment.
With the patience of a sniper, Megatron took the fusion cannon from his back and placed it on his arm where it should be — ready to use.
“Now.”
One word. One simple word.
Shots rang out everywhere as guards and fangrys alike died without so much as an explanation.
Starscream grabbed the confused Warden of Polyhex and threw him down the floor before Megatron’s feet.
The Autobot regained his own feet even as he looked up at Megatron.
“Megatron?” he said as if in a daze.
“I’m pleased that you’ve finally recognized me, Warden.” Megatron smiled warmly, “After all, I’ve fought before your throne almost as many times as we’ve met to discuss security details for Polyhexi detainees.”
The Warden found his steel: “I don’t know what this is about! But if you think you can pull a stunt off like this and retain your command–”
He didn’t finish the threat. Megatron was holding him by his throat and lifting him from the ground.
“Warden, for a mech with such an imagination for administration and public funding I’m surprised at you!”
“What are you going to do to me?” the Autobot managed to not sound afraid.
“Why ... justice, of course.”
There was a creaking groan coming from the Warden’s neck as Megatron clamped down on his throat. Tighter and tighter till his polyalloy reached its limit. The Warden struggling in vain the whole time. Finally there was a crunch and the Warden’s blue eyes went dark.
He slumped to the floor as he was released.
“You weren’t worthy to be an Autobot!” Megatron softly hissed, venting the full measure of the loathing and condemnation that he reserved for only a very few.
A measured moment of silence punctuated only by nervous titters from the others in the Warden’s box ... now filled with terrified mechs cowering before Starscream.
Gladiators exited the Gate of Life to stand around Megatron, proudly displaying the purple badges they now bore.
A longer moment of silence. A room now so quiet that it might have well been Alpha Trion’s sculpture collection.
Megatron examined his left hand ... its own polyalloy ever so slightly cracked from crushing the inferior material that had been the Warden’s armored neck. Then he lightly held it to his own badge before looking up.
“My fellows, hear me! Understand what I’ve shown you this day in this sad and miserable arena! Cynicism isn’t slowly booted up like a rivulet of oil that flows to become a great sea. No, cynicism is a sudden outpouring that swamps everything in its path, a smelting pool that violently erupts from its boundaries at a time and a place that makes sense of everything that was previously senseless and confused because of all the clutter.
“Cynicism is clarity....
“Cynicism is honesty....
“Cynicism is purity....
“Any true cynic knows that it is better to be disappointed now and again than to be proven right every time. We cynics aren’t even fond of our own cynicism.
“But this democracy of theirs isn’t based on cynicism!”
He thrust the hand holding the crown at the Warden’s box, at the Warden’s well connected guest, like it was a sword in his hand. It pleased him to see that their attention was finally on him rather than on Starscream.
“No, this unfettered democracy is buoyed by optimism. It is an optimism that looks at a system where the power to represent the People is concentrated and sees — or rather excuses — that the public good requires that those select representatives who call themselves the Great Council of Cybertron be above the People.
“This is not what Primus set out to achieve. Primus broadcast the authority to represent as close to the People as was prudent, and had he remained he would have broken that authority down even more than he factually did. In this way the People’s representatives were neither distinct from nor distant from those they represented. The authority they exercised was one intimately familiar with the needs and preferences of their People and their security in that position was related to both their performance and their competence.
“The Council of Cybertron was once drawn from such as these and there is no denying the fact that they were appointed to serve in Iacon over the functions of world governance; but, they who were once appointed also once served at the leisure of those who knew them best and those who had dispatched them forth.
“It is one thing to presume — as an optimist does — that a representative will not set out to fool strangers who do not know him — his true nature and intentions; but, it is another thing altogether to allow that any such scoundrel will long fool those who know him best and those who — being his immediate peers — understand him best.
“This has been the great folly of optimism ... that it presumed the good character of those who can simply be popular or else have the right name for the job. But Primus’ decentralized government, rooted in cynicism as it was, did not fall prey to such folly because a representative that is close to the People is one who stands on a precipice no matter what glorious height he may command for the moment.
“Then there is the other estate that Primus gave us: the monarchy....
“One would be understandably tempted to say that our monarchy was rooted in optimism. After all, if it seems wise to trust in a popular and aloof Great Council then how much more to trust in one individual to rule wisely? But to say that is to ignore the kind of King that Primus was and why — Artemus the Magnificent too.
“Primus was not distant from the People....
“He did not rule from on high....
“He commanded them to their face!
“The distinction is between a subtle expression that condemns and a direct confrontation, possibly even abusive, that rebukes. You who have been condemned, tell me if I’m wrong?”
Megatron turned around, his hand with the crown becoming an uplifted palm rather than a sword. With it he acted as if he were anointing the whole of the crowd. Then he stopped and the hand became a sword pointing at those in the Warden’s box again.
“Did the Great Council of Cybertron rebuke you? Did they strike you or even kill you? I say to you: ‘No!’”
After a single forceful thrust of his hand, he dropped his hands to his sides and seemed to sigh. Then his eyes flashed angrily as the crown once again stabbed at those in the box.
“THEY CAST YOU OUT! THEY STRIPPED YOU OF YOUR BADGES! THEY EVEN ROBBED YOU OF YOUR VERY NAMES!” he thundered.
Even Starscream seemed taken aback. All eyes turned from Megatron to the box and then back to Megatron again.
“And if that wasn’t enough: they profaned the greatest of our race since Primus, THE Primus — one whose humility and gentleness they turned into a curse and a byword. And they made you to bear that proud name like a curse because of all your suffering! They cast you without rights or honor into this lawless prison.
“Primus would not have done this. He even suffered a lazy fool long enough to see him dispatched. Gave him that much honor. No less a fool, but still respected!
“What honor have you, brave warriors of Cybertron? Have any of you even fought for their amusement–” another jab, “in a grand arena that seats thousands as HE DID?!?
“Or do they sit among you in small groups in their private boxes?
“Have your lives and the good of your city been spent, and your frames wrecked to entertain even a paltry hundred? Have they even given you the honor that the Quintessons gave HIM?!? I say to you: ‘NO!!!’”
The hand bearing the crown came down again even as his voice moderated.
“What mattered with Primus was that, knowing himself, he did not trust even the purity of his own motives; but, rather that he walked among the People fearlessly, on the one hand trusting in the local governance that he himself established to simply lack the ability to excel at mendacity and, on the other hand, trusting in his simple warrior’s honor, the unmatched clarity of a Combaticon who had known true servitude and genuine slavery.
“Just as you yourselves now know oppression.
“Primus and Artemus were tyrants – good tyrants. Having escaped the Quintessons through trials and hardships how could they be anything less? They were not like the Collaborators who sit on the Great Council of Cybertron and who said and who now say that they hope against hope that the Quintessons could somehow reform themselves and restore Cybertron to the glory of her Second Golden Age.
“No, Primus never said: ‘This is the Third Golden Age of Cybertron.’...
“My great friend said it best: ‘It is a golden age when the People live like it is a golden age.’...
“This was the proclamation of the Great Council of Cybertron: “This is the Third Golden Age of Cybertron!” But what did they do? They renamed the days. Megacycles became Vorns – a curious and arbitrary system that had vanished under the Quintessons long before they ever proved themselves evil.
“We stand amazed and humbled by their wisdom and boldness! This is the Third Golden Age of Cybertron! This is how they marked their great achievement when they stripped you of everything. It would have been better that they had killed you and burned this city to Cybertron’s foundations. Better than making you live in a world where “reformation” means selling out your own as this poor wretch did.”
He held out his empty hand to the Warden, as if there was a measure of pity to be found rather than mere showmanship.
“But what else could he do to survive? I pity him without measure and I mourned for him like a brother even as I crushed the life from him. Much as Primus might have done. Or Artemus the Magnificent.
“And who is this Great Council of Cybertron? They are the liars! They are the deceivers! Everyone knows that without good source materials there is silence. They have even taken history itself back! Even those who lived it do not speak of it for fear that they will get it wrong!
“Is this what Primus gave us?!? Can’t you see that those who blindly trusted this Great Council of Cybertron have brought all of this on us? This is the fruits of optimism! This is the fruits of unfettered democracy!
“Are you free?... Do you live in a nice apartment and hold down a productive job?... Or do you BEG for their so-called GENEROSITY?!?
“I LIVED IN THE GRANDEST OF APARTMENTS!” Megatron thundered, “I WAS THE MASTER OF THE ARMY THAT HAD PREVIOUSLY DEFEATED YOU! But ... but when they ... when they MURDERED HIM ... and made it look like an accident,” now Megatron was trembling with genuine passion, “the smelting pools in my spark broke loose.
“I knew what they had done, these trusted representatives. How could I not know? And like Primus I was finally confronted with a wickedness, with an evil that even I could no longer deny. And in that light I walked among you for the first time. I saw your suffering.
“But I wasn’t ready yet. Not yet....
“But I have since felt Cybertron’s tears like no other.... I have seen the depths of their greed and avarice.... I could not remain as I was anymore.
“Not anymore....
“Anymore....
“So I came here today much as you yourself. Badgeless. But I REFUSE to give up MY NAME! And no one owns me. I AM MEGATRON!!!
“I WILL remember the past. I WILL honor those whom they have murdered. I WILL remember what they have betrayed!...
“It is time for you to remember and not be concerned if you get a few paltry facts wrong. It is time to give up on your hope against hope that your oppressors will someday make nice. We can restore Cybertron even as we restore ourselves. WE CAN BE FREE!!!
“THIS!!!” now he lifted his free hand to his badge, “This IS that very badge I held up! YOU ALL KNOW IT!!! But see here?... SEE?!?... There is no encoding. There is nothing but the badge.
“This badge, THIS BADGE.... This is the Decepticon badge!
“It is now the badge of all true followers of Primus, THE Primus as well as of Primus. Wear it! Follow me! FIGHT!!!”
Megatron paused as excitement seemed to be building in the crowd. The killing of moments before all but forgotten. Even some of the Warden’s guest seemed enthralled.
He raised the crown high, like a thing revered. He bowed his head and, when he spoke he began softly and slowly before rising in crescendo and tempo.
“On the day we sit in their great hall, on that day this crown ... in my hand ... will sit atop one of our heads. The one who we approve of. The one who we know. The one who we understand!
“IT IS ALL GOLD!!! Three spires of gold! None are servants or mere citizens! We will be the People! All of us!....
“Even Predacons.” Megatron’s voice became like the grave as faces all around expressed sheer astonishment.
“And the wisdom of Primus,” he smiled as these words flowed forth as if born from sheer joy, “will adorn our government just as this ruby adorns this crown — the Decepticon Crown.... What say you? What have you left to risk that they haven’t already taken from you?”
He let the crown down now, in both hands he held it forward to them like it was a gift.
“Follow me and we will eventually have peace with both HONOR AND TRUTH!!!... Peace through tyranny.”
One of the things that made Roger Ebert such a good reviewer at his peak (not talking about his later years when he seemed to like everything and let his personal politics cloud his writing) was that he would measure a movie essentially against what it was trying to be. Lethal Weapon and Ordinary People weren’t trying the same things so pretending that 3.5 star ratings for them meant the same thing was silly.
I expect very different experiences from a Paul Thomas Anderson movie to a Marvel Universe movie. So, just an aggregate of 81 percent doesn’t mean all that much.
One of the things that made Roger Ebert such a good reviewer at his peak (not talking about his later years when he seemed to like everything and let his personal politics cloud his writing) was that he would measure a movie essentially against what it was trying to be. Lethal Weapon and Ordinary People weren’t trying the same things so pretending that 3.5 star ratings for them meant the same thing was silly.
I expect very different experiences from a Paul Thomas Anderson movie to a Marvel Universe movie. So, just an aggregate of 81 percent doesn’t mean all that much.
The financing of movies is a real problem. The only way it makes any sense to even make a movie at this point is if it is a tentpole that can create dozens of revenue streams for dozens of years.
To Hollywood’s credit, it has tried this with some original material in recent years. But generally becomes a disaster as people don’t want to dive into that much exposition/world building in a movie theater apparently. They want to come in knowing all the rules.
As others have said, Marvel’s worldbuilding works, because it’s really just our world tweaked slightly and Marvel has religiously followed the rules of that universe for decades. DC’s Universe has always been a mess (Multiverse), and at this point, DC doesn’t even seem to know what its characters are supposed to be in any universe. (This angry, vigilante Superman is such a disaster).
Meanwhile, tv budgets have grown to the point where you can get major stars and major writers and major directors tackling major themes that people will engage with over time.
In the 70s, the first season of True Detective would have been one of the top ten movies of the year in a condensed form.
Definitely, he was one of the few reviewer to actually “get” exploitation movies. He could understand that sure the plot’s stupid, but it’s executed well. Especially in that time frame when most reviewers were basically trying to be auteurs and were really pushing arthouse, Ebert’s ability to appreciate a good car chase really separated him from the crowd.
It certainly had something to do with his time with Russ Meyer, but he also was capable of liking a movie just for the simple reason that it had attractive women in little to no clothing.
Having said all that, The Pirates movies have never really been good. They are all 8 hours long with fight scenes and chase scenes that go on forever and romantic plots that feel out of a Marx Brothers movie. They have also increasingly relied on Depp as the series went on..... to limited returns at best.
I actually saw the second one in a theater, and it was a mistake. They are movies best show on TNT where you can take fifteen minute breaks to fold laundry, go to the bathroom, and check baseball scores on your phone.
He and Russ were friends before they made Dolls. Roger loved his movies from an early age, which probably did flavor his career as a critic. He comprehended that great acting, great writing, and great cinematography were all... well great; but he also appreciated boobs.
I saw the first Pirates. It was OK. I couldn’t help but notice that Depp was basically doing his Hunter S Thompson from Fear and Loathing, which is a much better movie. So I’ve skipped all the rest.
Probably bad reviews by 1000 Macedonians.
The Mummy has one of the worst trailers I’ve ever seen. The Monsterverse is looking to be off to a really bad start.
Marvel built their universe organically. DC is forcing theirs, with apparently one good movie out of the four released to date. The Kaijuverse started with a cooly received Godzilla and a warmly received Skull Island. Anybody’s guess where that one goes, but I don’t think the majority of the audience even knows they’re building towards something.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.