On October 05 2018 04:06 IgnE wrote: RPO is obviously garbage. i wish you had written a post about the latest Mission Impossible instead. maybe ill have to watch it myself and write a review
see this NYT review on the HYPERHUMAN tom cruise (i love tom cruise; eyes wide shut is great)
"It’s easy to get cynical at the movies. With eight sequels in the top ten last week, more and more people see the Hollywood machine as just that, something that spits out product instead of art or even entertainment. Perhaps the best thing I can say about “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” is that it destroys cynicism. It truly does what so many people have looked for in entertainment for over a century—a chance for real-world worries to take a back seat for a couple hours. You’ll be too busy worrying how Ethan Hunt is going to get out of this one to care about anything outside the theater. It's a rare action movie that can do that so well that you not only escape but walk out kind of invigorated and ready to take on the world. “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” is one of those movies. "
MI:F is super garbage. Totally disjointed scenes, constantly increasing stakes which gets tiresome real quick. Forced use of masks (because it wouldn't be MI if they wouldn't do it) to generate plot-twists that anyone can see coming from a mile away at this point and typical, mindless actiony stuff ad nauseam.
The only worthwhile sequence in this movie is the chase scene (and even that is stretching it). Seriously, it's been a long time since I just wanted to stand up and leave the theater 10 minutes into the movie and then this happened...
On October 05 2018 04:06 IgnE wrote: RPO is obviously garbage. i wish you had written a post about the latest Mission Impossible instead. maybe ill have to watch it myself and write a review
LOL I already did. You wanted me to write a response to the critics that loved it.
On October 05 2018 04:06 IgnE wrote: see this NYT review on the HYPERHUMAN tom cruise (i love tom cruise; eyes wide shut is great)
"It’s easy to get cynical at the movies. With eight sequels in the top ten last week, more and more people see the Hollywood machine as just that, something that spits out product instead of art or even entertainment. Perhaps the best thing I can say about “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” is that it destroys cynicism. It truly does what so many people have looked for in entertainment for over a century—a chance for real-world worries to take a back seat for a couple hours. You’ll be too busy worrying how Ethan Hunt is going to get out of this one to care about anything outside the theater. It's a rare action movie that can do that so well that you not only escape but walk out kind of invigorated and ready to take on the world. “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” is one of those movies. "
My main disagreement with these types of reviews is that they assume action movies are purely about how well the setpieces are set up and executed, with the other aspects of filmmaking being bare-bone additions. Action movies are like old silent movies: story and action are synonymous instead of separate. Tallerico cites Fury Road, Die Hard, and Baby Driver has excellent examples of the genre but his descriptions sound cliched. Die Hard doesn't "flow so smoothly from scene to scene" whether we're talking about editing or direction; having watched it over 10 times, I'd know. That direction style wouldn't work for a movie about a schlubby, off-duty cop facing well-armed terrorists with no recourse. Die Hard works largely because the violence is intermittent yet pedestrian when it occurs. I consider Baby Driver one of Wright's less impressive movies because he doesn't mesh the crime drama + musical motifs well besides the action sequences. Meanwhile Dargis doesn't even mention the plot, cinematography, pacing, etc. Her review is almost a meta-discussion of the MI franchise.
Besides that, they exaggerate the dynamicism and import of the movie's main attraction. Fallout does stand out for its professionalism in handling and directing the scenes, but it's not that much more notable than its contemporaries. For example:
The bathroom fight scene is something reminiscent of The Raid but cleaner. It's pretty good all things considered. Both reviewers praise it in the meat of their reviews.
But it makes two crucial mistakes. The first is that it lampshades Walker's clandestine identity as John Lark during the exchange with his handler: the pristine phone he hands over is nothing like the cracked one he obtained off the flunky's corpse. This ruins the subsequent reveal. The second is it retroactively diminishes Walker's reputation as a go-for-broke, heartless tank. His CQC capabilities are incommensurate with his supposed reputation, and this severely lowers the stakes once it's clear Hunt must take him out solo. We knew Solomon Lane was both ruthless and exceedingly intelligent via the plot long before the final chase sequence of Rogue Nation - the clever part was the protagonist leveraged his insecurities against him in an obvious way. We should've "known" Walker was a scary SOB in a fight and Hunt would be in mortal danger during their final confrontation. But the movie tells us that instead of showing it, neglecting to demonstrate other qualities that would have made him a worthy opponent.
I didn't have to ruminate that hard to notice these things. They were apparent as the scene progressed. I don't know why critics are so lenient on Fallout simply because it's slightly more inventive than its competition, especially since I'd argue it's less inventive than its predecessors.
On October 05 2018 04:06 IgnE wrote: RPO is obviously garbage. i wish you had written a post about the latest Mission Impossible instead. maybe ill have to watch it myself and write a review
LOL I already did. You wanted me to write a response to the critics that loved it.
"It’s easy to get cynical at the movies. With eight sequels in the top ten last week, more and more people see the Hollywood machine as just that, something that spits out product instead of art or even entertainment. Perhaps the best thing I can say about “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” is that it destroys cynicism. It truly does what so many people have looked for in entertainment for over a century—a chance for real-world worries to take a back seat for a couple hours. You’ll be too busy worrying how Ethan Hunt is going to get out of this one to care about anything outside the theater. It's a rare action movie that can do that so well that you not only escape but walk out kind of invigorated and ready to take on the world. “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” is one of those movies. "
My main disagreement with these types of reviews is that they assume action movies are purely about how well the setpieces are set up and executed, with the other aspects of filmmaking being bare-bone additions. Action movies are like old silent movies: story and action are synonymous instead of separate. Tallerico cites Fury Road, Die Hard, and Baby Driver has excellent examples of the genre but his descriptions sound cliched. Die Hard doesn't "flow so smoothly from scene to scene" whether we're talking about editing or direction; having watched it over 10 times, I'd know. That direction style wouldn't work for a movie about a schlubby, off-duty cop facing well-armed terrorists with no recourse. Die Hard works largely because the violence is intermittent yet pedestrian when it occurs. I consider Baby Driver one of Wright's less impressive movies because he doesn't mesh the crime drama + musical motifs well besides the action sequences. Meanwhile Dargis doesn't even mention the plot, cinematography, pacing, etc. Her review is almost a meta-discussion of the MI franchise.
Besides that, they exaggerate the dynamicism and import of the movie's main attraction. Fallout does stand out for its professionalism in handling and directing the scenes, but it's not that much more notable than its contemporaries. For example:
The bathroom fight scene is something reminiscent of The Raid but cleaner. It's pretty good all things considered. Both reviewers praise it in the meat of their reviews.
But it makes two crucial mistakes. The first is that it lampshades Walker's clandestine identity as John Lark during the exchange with his handler: the pristine phone he hands over is nothing like the cracked one he obtained off the flunky's corpse. This ruins the subsequent reveal. The second is it retroactively diminishes Walker's reputation as a go-for-broke, heartless tank. His CQC capabilities are incommensurate with his supposed reputation, and this severely lowers the stakes once it's clear Hunt must take him out solo. We knew Solomon Lane was both ruthless and exceedingly intelligent via the plot long before the final chase sequence of Rogue Nation - the clever part was the protagonist leveraged his insecurities against him in an obvious way. We should've "known" Walker was a scary SOB in a fight and Hunt would be in mortal danger during their final confrontation. But the movie tells us that instead of showing it, neglecting to demonstrate other qualities that would have made him a worthy opponent.
I didn't have to ruminate that hard to notice these things. They were apparent as the scene progressed. I don't know why critics are so lenient on Fallout simply because it's slightly more inventive than its competition, especially since I'd argue it's less inventive than its predecessors.
and how does it compare to a generic marvel movie, the typical example of which seems like a comic book version of all the things you criticize about RPO and worse action scenes that are 95% CGI. do people just go to the marvel movies for the jokes now?
I actually had a lot of fun watching MI:F and so did my gf. It's a fun ride, the action scenes go way over the top and then some. If you go to a MI movie expecting realistic stuff and a serious plot, then you haven't been paying attention the last years.
RPO on the other hand we agreed it was a solidly meh movie. The only saving grace were the special effects, which are sweet but there are so many movies with similar stuff nowadays. I actually read the book right before going to the cinemas... I understoon the reason of the changes, they just made the movie more mainsteam and less nerdy, which kinda sucked but I didn't care much. Probably because the book was nothing amazing either, the first 40 pages or so feel more like a blog than a book. I had to force myself to finish the last 20-30 pages because I lost interest. It felt like a missed oportunity, the main idea is really good.
On October 05 2018 19:01 Salteador Neo wrote: I actually had a lot of fun watching MI:F and so did my gf. It's a fun ride, the action scenes go way over the top and then some. If you go to a MI movie expecting realistic stuff and a serious plot, then you haven't been paying attention the last years.
RPO on the other hand we agreed it was a solidly meh movie. The only saving grace were the special effects, which are sweet but there are so many movies with similar stuff nowadays. I actually read the book right before going to the cinemas... I understoon the reason of the changes, they just made the movie more mainsteam and less nerdy, which kinda sucked but I didn't care much. Probably because the book was nothing amazing either, the first 40 pages or so feel more like a blog than a book. I had to force myself to finish the last 20-30 pages because I lost interest. It felt like a missed oportunity, the main idea is really good.
Read Kostick's The Avatar Chronicles trilogy instead. Similar theme but much better executed in my opinion (and would make for a hell of a movie if it ever got to that). I remember I read this trilogy not long before RPO (seeing how RPO was released the same year as the last volume of the trilogy) and it (RPO) just felt really cheap and shallow in comparison.
Anyone watched Venom yet? I'm gonna watch it this weekend, I'm just curious why it's one of the biggest disconnects between user score and critic score on Rotten Tomatoes (that I've seen).
I've heard from friends that it is so bad it is good. The best quote I saw was: "Hardy treats the Spider-Man spinoff like a Little Shop of Horrors remake starring mid-’90s Jim Carrey.' Which sounds amazing.
On October 09 2018 23:09 Sbrubbles wrote: Anyone watched Venom yet? I'm gonna watch it this weekend, I'm just curious why it's one of the biggest disconnects between user score and critic score on Rotten Tomatoes (that I've seen).
It's a silly movie that delivers on its promise. General audiences want the movie to be.a fun, relaxing escape from the ennui of everyday life. Venom is like The Rock and Crank 2; I wouldn't call any of them cinematic classics, but they are entertaining despite recognizing how ridiculous the execution can be.
On October 09 2018 23:09 Sbrubbles wrote: Anyone watched Venom yet? I'm gonna watch it this weekend, I'm just curious why it's one of the biggest disconnects between user score and critic score on Rotten Tomatoes (that I've seen).
It's a silly movie that delivers on its promise. General audiences want the movie to be.a fun, relaxing escape from the ennui of everyday life. Venom is like The Rock and Crank 2; I wouldn't call any of them cinematic classics, but they are entertaining despite recognizing how ridiculous the execution can be.
Just saw it. I thought it was fun overall: understandably dark but unexpectedly funny/ goofy in some places. Two nice teaser scenes during the ending credits.
I think it did a good job setting up the Carnage/ Woody Harrelson sequel, because this movie was clearly designed to be the Eddie Brock Meets Venom plot. This is just the beginning. It was clearly written and directed with at least one sequel in mind, to take the character development and symbiotic relationship even further.
Seen Venom yesterday. Overall it was pretty enjoyable. I wish they wouldn't cut some cool scenes out to drop the rating (hopefully director's cut will be R rated as originally planned).
I didn't like Woody Harrelson as Cletus Kasady, looked really clowny in this red wig. They should've taken Jackie Earl Haley (Rorschach from Watchmen) instead, he would be perfect for it.
And in other news: Cameron's Alita: Battle Angel is being moved to March next year and is being replaced by *drumroll* PG-13 version of Deadpool 2 for christmas...
Thats a pretty interesting take. Apparently, North America is more progressive then the rest of the world. And It presents a fairly good compromise to me that they release the R rated Deadpool in America but pair it down to pg 13 for the rest of the world.
Any crossover would have to be PG-13 to play with the rest of the MCU but you can at least hope that Disney knows that people want the true R version and a super unrated version on dvd.
BlacKkKlansman has a good plot and acting. Unfortunately I think the last quarter is too predictable - Spike Lee chose to abandon a tight ending to send a political message. I feel somewhat tricked. And the very end, with clips of violent protests and Trump speeches, was completely unnecessary.
Saw First Man today and was very disappointed. There was no one likable or interesting in the movie. I really doubt that the real people they were basing this on were that soulless and devoid of any humor or warmth. Unforgivable when the whole long movie is trying to be a character study. Pretty sad to waste such interesting historical material and acting talent. The flight scenes were intense but there are so many that it loses its impact, especially for the ending mission to the moon.
Man this movie hit me right in the feels, it is about an ordinary korean family, father, mother and 8 year old daughter So-won. One day So-won is a little late for school, runs into some stranger who then brutally tortures and rapes her. She gets found, brought to a hospital and from there we experience the journey of this family and how they deal with this horrific incident. We get confronted with some really tough situations, through the eyes of these three people ofc, be it the media attention the family gets, the trial, the emotional scars and healing, it can be a really depressing movie indeed. But there is also "hope", the film doesn't forget that even in the worst times there can be happiness found. I actually started tearing up a few times during this movie, both from sadness but also from heartwarming human interactions, it's is really good at pressing the right buttons if you will (some might call it manipulative, i think it was handled beautifully though). The acting of the main cast is great (very good child actress!), there is no flashy cinematography or production value going on but this grounds the movie and makes sure the viewer feels closer to the family. Terrific film!
EPT
![[image loading]](https://i.imgur.com/oVHu2s4.jpg)
